ANGRY York care home workers have hit out at their bosses, claiming they have botched a new pay system and left staff out-of-pocket.

Workers in City of York Council’s elderly persons’ homes (EPHs) say they are not being paid properly or fairly.

They blame a new timesheet system, brought in following a pay review.

In a letter to The Press, a number of anonymous employees wrote: “City of York Council management brought in a new pay and grading system for all of its employees without, it seems, doing any worthwhile research into how its staff, especially shift workers in its elderly persons’ homes (EPH) work.

“The new timesheet was not constructed for shifts workers (especially nights) and almost everyone has been paid incorrectly.

“When the payroll staff have been contacted they also do not seem to know how the operational system was to work – apparently the payroll staff have also been thrown in at the deep end by management insisting on pushing through new systems and pay technology before being properly understood and installed, resulting in chaos for its employees.”

The writers added: “Many caring staff, who have been reliable and constant workers over many years of caring for the most vulnerable members of our society, feel they are now unable to cover extra shifts – on which many EPHs rely – because they are not getting paid correctly or fairly for the work they have done.”

They said they felt “undervalued and disrespected” by the council’s management.

Angela Wilkinson, the council’s head of human resources, said the problems were being addressed.

She said: “The council implemented the new pay and grading arrangements in December, which effectively replaced all existing local pay arrangements with one council-wide pay structure.

“We produced a new timesheet to reflect the new pay structure arrangements, which we recognise is likely to need some adjustments before it is right.

“We have been working closely with mangers of elderly persons’ homes to try to resolve the issues regarding timesheets for their staff.

“We are improving the timesheets to make sure they capture all the necessary information so we can pay staff correctly.”

The council recently shook up its entire pay structure, in line with national legislation affecting all local authorities.

More than 800 York council employees are appealing against changes to their pay made as a result of the shake-up.

* Have you been affected by the care home pay problems? You can phone The Press on 01904 567133.