Care workers offered car worth £22K as Covid vaccine incentive

A Renault Clio E-Tech worth £22,000 is being offered by a care group to motivate its care staff to have both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Care group PJ Care is offering its staff the chance to win the car in a raffle draw as its “more cost effective than recruiting new team members”.

Since the government announced that anyone working or volunteering in a care home must be fully vaccinated by 11 November, unless exempt, care providers have been pulling out the stops to offer incentives.

PJ Care provides neurological care for adults with progressive conditions such as dementia, Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, and those with acquired brain injuries. The company runs two specialist care centres in Milton Keynes and a third in Peterborough.

At just over £20,000, it equals a carer’s average annual wage

Staff at PJ Care face losing their jobs if they haven’t been fully vaccinated by 11 November, unless exempt, in line with government legislation. The legislation applies to all Care Quality Commission-regulated care homes in England.

Currently, 85 per cent of PJ Care’s 600 staff have been fully vaccinated.

Neil Russell, chairman, said he hoped by raffling a Renault Clio E-Tech worth £22,000 it would "help to encourage those who are open to changing their minds".

Mr Russell said: “We know that there are some of our staff who, for whatever reason, just do not feel able to receive the vaccine.

“But there are those staff who are still undecided or haven’t yet made their appointments for whom the prize of a new car could be deciding factor.

“We absolutely believe in the vaccine and have informed and encouraged our staff throughout, and it will pain us to lose any of our valued and highly-skilled team.

“With the average salary of a carer here being just over £20,000, plus our investment in their training, overtime they may earn and the costs of recruiting their replacement, if this initiative gets just one person to have the vaccine and stay in their job, we will have saved money.”

‘Time is running out…had to act fast’

Staff who’ve yet to be vaccinated need to have their first jab by 16 September, in time for their second dose before the government deadline. Mr Russell said with time running out, they had to act fast.

“Recruiting staff in this sector is already difficult…and adding in a requirement for vaccination will only make the situation worse. In this context, a new car is a small price to pay – indeed, it is actually an investment rather than a cost.”

The chairman of PJ Care has previously expressed his opposition to the government’s compulsory vaccination policy.

"It's disappointing because this move feels like a lack of respect for care staff who have given so much during the pandemic. It assumes they can easily be replaced by people who have a greater sense of duty or responsibility to the elderly and the vulnerable. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

"I would hate to have to terminate the employment of any of my staff because they didn’t feel able, for whatever reason, to accept a Covid vaccination."

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