SITUATION OF THOSE WORKING IN ELDERLY CARE IN THE EU AND HUNGARY

Description

Overall, the number of employees in elderly care can be expected to increase by a minimum of 50% by 2030 in the EU, even under unchanged conditions. In Hungary, the average salary of someone working in elderly care is 5% lower than the overall average in the social services sector. Employees would consider a minimum wage increase of at least 50% as fair in the current situation. More than half of employees have second jobs to supplement their earnings. The consequences of staff shortages are manifold: there is less and less time to provide individual care; increasing stress and risk of injury, rising number of patients, faster pace of work, subsitutions and the division of responsibilities, and a lack of time for trade union activity. Executive Summary 1 DESK RESEARCH, the situation in the European Union 1.1 Labour force map 1.2 Working conditions 1.3 Policy proposals for decision makers 2 Secondary analysis: Elderly care workers in Hungary 2.1 Methodology 2.2 Employee demographics 2.3 Earnings, second jobs, subjective wellbeing 2.4 Perceived labour shortage, staff turnover 2.5 The physical-emotional strain and danger of work 2.6 Trade Union Membership, Advocacy 3 Results of the interview research 3.1 Staff in institutions: composition, staff shortages, fluctuation 3.2 Material esteem 3.3 Working conditions: schedule, work intensity, physical environment, work equipment, administration 3.4 Health condition, stress, burnout, abuse 3.5 Trade union membership, advocacy 3.6 Covid experiences REFERENCES ABOUT THE AUTHOR IMPRINT