THE elected boss of adult care in Worcestershire has refuted claims workers are being "ripped off" by low pay - and has called for any specific examples to be brought to her attention.

Councillor Sheila Blagg, the Conservative in charge of adult social services, insists she is confident rogue employers cannot take advantage of care workers in the county.

As your Worcester News revealed last week, a bid to investigate the terms and conditions of agency staff who work with Worcestershire's elderly was rejected during a vote in a county council meeting.

The concern has come about because the authority allows outside organisations to bid for most of its care work in resident's own households.

Cllr Blagg has been challenged by the opposition Labour group on it, who say the commissioning out could lead to workers being taken advantage of, particularly around travel times from one resident to another.

She said: "We have contracts which comply with legislation which means we have to at least put the minimum wage in.

"But we also put 'average time' (clauses) within those contracts to include travel - we follow the UK national home care formula when we calculate this.

"The rates the council pay to providers in rural areas are higher than urban ones, there's a tiered system and each provider can select a tier that suits their needs because of the locations and travel times involved."

She also says "dip sampling" takes place where senior officers examine each arrangement to make sure payments to staff reflect at least the minimum wage, including driving times between locations.

Councillor Peter McDonald, Labour group leader, said: "Thousands of care workers are being ripped off by private companies who snatch council contracts and slash wages."

He asked Cllr Blagg if she "condoned" low pay, to which she said: "If you have specifics you can bring to the attention of this council we will not just look at that, but investigate it."

She added: "Of course I do not condone any practices that mean people are denied their contract of employment."

The tiered system gives care agencies four rates of pay to opt for, going from around £13 an hour to more than £16.

Nationally the guidelines have come under criticism because in rural areas care homes are often situated miles apart, meaning workers can lose out if they have to work overtime due to the travelling.