sectionHdg-research

The Employment Aspects and Workforce Implications of Direct Payments (2007)

 

This survey, conducted in 2007, is the first large scale survey of recipients of direct payments as employers.


The main survey objectives were:

1. to provide statistically reliable information on the numbers and types of workers employed by recipients of direct payments.

2. to explore direct payment recipients' experiences of being employers, building on qualitative research conducted as part of the Skills for Care New Types of Worker Project (Developing the roles of personal assistants, October 2005).

The survey was conducted by IFF Research during 2007 and was in 3 stages.
First, 526 face to face interviews were conducted with representative samples of direct payments recipients in 16 local authority areas (Individual Budget pilot local authorities were excluded). The interview explored numbers and types of workers employed, terms of employment, recruitment and retention, and satisfaction with workers, including any experiences of abuse.


Second, self-completion questionnaires were left with recipients for their personal assistants (PAs), to establish basic information about PAs' age, qualifications and work experience. These were completed by 486 PAs.


Third, 100 telephone interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of these PAs to find out more about their work, employment experiences and training needs.


The research was co-funded by the GSCC, and questions about attitude to registration of PAs were asked of both recipients of direct payments and PAs.