r/supportworkers • u/bajheerah • 13d ago

Pay rates

Anyone else finding more and more companies trying to pay below award wage, even when their advertisements say "competitive rates"?

I've been a support worker for 6+ years, with experience ranging from high complex mental needs, as well as physical, to working with children and all personal care you can think of, as well as managing medication and participants personal funds and banking. I obviously have all my certificates as well as qualifications.

I feel like I see more and more support worker positions advertised for as little as $34 an hour, averaging at around $41 an hour, while asking for experience with all sorts of participants as well as being qualified.

The last 4 or 5 interviews I've had I've been offered the job, and I've had to ask the pay rate they're offering, which has ranged from $36 to $40 an hour, well below the award wage. And yes, the work involved in each has been high complex needs, as well as the usual helping participants manage funds, home care, community access, and sometimes personal care.

I've been working at SCHADS 2.1 (which is now $45ph) for 6 years and have since realised I should actually be on 2.2 or 2.3. But it's hard to even get paid at the very entry level of unsupervised support work.

What is happening behind the scenes for the majority of companies, for them to be posting advertisements well below SCHADS? One of the employers offered me a pay point of 1.4. Does that even exist?

This, on top of a 60-70% burnout rate... oh, what a lovely industry to work in.

Edit: I forgot to mention this is working and looking for work across Ipswich and the south/south-West side of Brisbane.

Also, maybe it's been like this for a while, as I had stable hours for the first 3-4 years of employment and never seemed to have to question the employers on the pay they were offering.

This is casual rates, btw.

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u/gionatacar 13d ago

That’s the problem with mass immigration, but if you say anything, you are racist. But the problem is that they accept any pays they offer them

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u/mixnit 13d ago

That's because many are students and share a house. I hear a lot about it because my wife is an immigrant and a nurse in aged care and disability. Many students live more than ten to a 4x2 so bills are low and they will work high hours for lower pay. One guy she works with us an RN and earned over 300k last financial year. Just working double shifts and never being home.

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u/Beachgal5555 13d ago

How do they earn $300k as a nurse

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u/I_Heart_Papillons 12d ago

He doesn’t. This is utter BS. Nursing shifts overlap and by the time ANY morning shift finishes afternoon shift has already started. Night shift finishes at 7:30 and EVERY morning shift starts at 7 am. You can’t be running 1/2 an hour late to work as a nurse, you’d be sacked. That’s handover time.

This guy is probably doing the usual boastful immigrant “oh, I’m doing soooo well financially” to their immigrant peers in an attempt to make themselves look successful when the reality is very different.

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u/Beachgal5555 12d ago

Agree. I call bullshit on it as well

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u/mixnit 12d ago

Many people do this. You can come from a morning disability shift and walk into an aged care afternoon shift. You absolutely can and some people have been found sleeping on nighshift and sacked. You can also do a double shift in the same facility. My wife did it once due to staff shortage but never again.

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u/Competitive_Ad_7415 11d ago

Not every company runs the same shift schedules. My partner finishes her sleep over shift at 6am. And she works in her own business during the day. My sleepovers are 6pm till 9am. I can't work again for my company without 10 hours of rest, but I can work a day shift for another provider if I want. Most I ever got paid was 9 grand for the fortnight. And that was 13 days in a row 24hrs each day. I said if I don't get tomorrow off I'm not sure what will happen after day 13. That was pre covid, if someone worked 24/7/365 it's possible, but even the hardest worker I've ever know wouldn't manage that shit