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A union has warned healthcare workers not to use a government app intended to help them during the coronavirus pandemic because it allows their managers to identify staff who have complained about pay, tests and personal protective equipment.
Matt Hancock launched a mobile app last week for 1.5 million people in the adult social care workforce that was supposed to distribute infection control tips and policy updates via smartphone.
The Care Workforce app promised to help “care workers gain access to guidance, learning resources, discounts, and other assistance, all in one place.”
But the GMB union has advised members to avoid using the app because it has an insecure web chat feature, and it gives managers access to what are supposed to be private messages.
Documents seen by The Guardian include a claim by a named care worker that an employer has not paid the minimum wage.
“I was paid yesterday and I noticed that my salary did not go up to the minimum wage on April 1, I think it is a disgrace, we are all working very hard and risking ourselves and the lives of our families by coming in contact with the virus and now I’m being underpaid!
Another complained about the lack of PPE, saying it was “wrong for you to only get £ 95 for sick pay when you get infected.”
And a third, who was identifiable by name, said: “It is ridiculous that the staff has to solve the tests ourselves. Our employers should solve it. “
Rehana Azam, GMB’s national secretary, said the app had already exposed many care workers to the possibility of sanctions and urged them not to use it.
“Exposing users’ personal details in this app in this way is very incompetent at best, but we say it’s a frank betrayal of key workers any way you see it,” he said.
“Health and care workers are terrified of talking about the dangerous lack of PPE in the event their employer scolds or fires them for raising the issue.
“Now the government is launching an application that deletes your private data everywhere for anyone to see. Bosses can easily use it to spy on workers, see what they are saying and potentially punish them. “
Azam said Hancock was to blame for the “disaster”.
At the launch of the app in March, the secretary of health and social assistance asked all care workers to download it.
“We have released a new app specifically for healthcare workers to make sure they have the most up-to-date guidance to keep them safe, connected to their colleagues across the country, which also allows them to access discounts like their NHS counterparts.
“It is available for download right now, and I urge everyone in social care to do so,” he said.
To register, workers must provide their name, email and region, and their employer’s zip code. Optional additional information includes a worker’s employer name.
According to the union, the app’s web chat feature can search for and disclose personal information about caregivers.
Upon registration, users receive an email that directly projects web chat comments from other users, which may be sensitive or revealing, including information on whether caregivers have been tested for Covid-19.
Hancock’s office has been contacted for comment.
