Union warning on work conditions of sleep-in carers
Relatively modest home A COUPLE who won a £58million EuroMillions jackpot say they still cannot resist a bargain.
Fred and Lesley Higgins have no interest in splashing out on a millionaire lifestyle in Monaco or the Caribbean – instead continuing to enjoy mini-breaks in their native Scotland.
And a year after their massive win, former account manager Lesley, 57, says she has yet to break her old frugal habits and still snaps up cut-price clothes.
She said: “I was always the type of person who stalked a thing before I bought it in the sale. I’m a bit more relaxed now, but I still look at things and think, ‘I can’t justify spending that.’
“I bought a jacket recently that was down to £50 but I wouldn’t have paid the original price which was nearer £300.”
The interest on their haul would more than cover the original price in just two hours. The couple from Laurencekirk, CARE workers on sleep-in duty are having to bed down at work in staff offices or on dirty mattresses – sometimes without anywhere to wash before their next shift.
A poll of 3,000 by union Unison found shocking conditions in residential homes Aberdeenshire, will celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary soon but are unlikely to throw their money at a glitzy party to mark it. Lesley said: “We don’t know what we’re doing for it. We have never been ones to plan lavish affairs.”
Husband Fred, 68, a retired warranty administrator for Audi, said workmates used to tease him when he said his numbers would come up. He said: “I was confident I’d win. I didn’t think I’d win as much as I did. I told my colleagues, ‘Some day I’m going to win the lottery’ and they pulled my leg. But he who laughs last, laughs loudest.”
The couple scooped the prize in the draw on July 10, 2018, but their winning ticket was initially ripped up by the cashier at the shop where they had it checked. Fortunately the numbers were still clear enough to claim the windfall. The couple, who have one daughter, kept the ticket in an envelope marked: “Money Worries Over!”
Another UK punter has won double the Higgins’ haul – but may not know it yet. The £123million prize for the Tuesday June 11 draw was won by a single ticket bought in the UK, matching all the numbers: 25, 27, 39, 42, 46, with Lucky Stars 11 and 12.
Players are urged to check their tickets to see if they are the UK’s fourth winner this year. LESLEY HIGGINS LOTTO WINNER WILL NOT SPLASH CASH and private houses, and also heard reports of physical and verbal abuse, including being punched and threatened with knives.
Unison said the findings, published at its conference in Liverpool today, come as some providers scrap top-up payments They prefer home to the Caribbean
I’m better now but still look at things and think, ‘I can’t justify spending that’
that ensure staff get the minimum wage. General secretary Dave Prentis said: “Sleep-in staff keep the system on its feet. Yet workers are paid poverty wages.”
Meanwhile, care workers had the lowest one-year retention rate for public sector staff in 2016/17 at 67%, an Office for National Statistics study found.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “We will set out our plans for reform at the earliest opportunity, including proposals to boost retention.”