WITH the publicity surrounding bad care homes, some of which raises the hairs on your neck, I think it’s time to point out that now is the time that your loved ones go out to tender and it’s pot luck whether the place where your relative lives is sold on to a good or a bad company.

Whether any of you are happy with the care you or a relative receives is a moot point unless social services have actually asked for your opinion, otherwise it’s down to a good report from CQC and, yes, MONEY.

Good care is not always down to money but having sufficient staffing is down to the hours paid and they can be pretty tight.

Also, think of the poor old foot soldier – in this case, the care workers; some more unscrupulous companies will breeze in with poor contracts, less money, loss of holiday accumulated, zero sick pay, etc.

For those persons who find this comes true there is a nice gov.uk site working, jobs and pensions, business transfers, takeovers and TUPE.

Look this site up and if your new employer thinks they are going to cash in at your expense, take the advice given and teach them otherwise . . . employees still have some rights!

If Social Services think that they can push down the cost of care by lowering hours paid for and taking on poor employers, thus de-empowering both employees and the people we care for, then they should think again.

TONY NICHOLSON, Holbury.