MiHomecare, the firm at the centre of this case, is Britain’s fourth-largest home care provider, but it has endured a difficult few months.
It started life as home care firm Enara in 1996, but was bought and renamed by “strategic outsourcing” company Mitie in October 2012.
Read more: MiHomecare sued for paying below minimum wage
Last month East Sussex County Council cancelled a £2m contract to deliver home and community care in the county after a council investigation found “institutional abuse” in one of its care homes, with one elderly dementia patient confined to a chair for hours on end without food or medication.
Seven months earlier the firm lost a contract with West Sussex County Council because the firm was “unable to provide safe and sustainable care to customers”.
A spokesman for Mitie said: “The quality of the care that we provide and the safety and dignity of our customers is our highest priority. We are working hard with the local authority to improve standards.”
MiHomecare’s staff numbers have been drastically cut back over the past year – from around 6,000 to 4,000 – though it still operates in 16 counties across England.
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Ruby McGregor-Smith, chief executive of Mitie, has previously conceded problems with staff retention. About half of the company’s care workers are on zero-hours contracts. “We always offer a living wage option but it’s up to local authorities what they pay. Where we pay the London living wage, retention is not an issue.”
Earlier this year Mitie posted a 5.8 per cent rise in its annual revenue, up to £2.26bn.
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