The retiring boss of a large Nelson home support business is calling for an end to an "immoral" situation in which hundreds of workers travel up to 175km a week during unpaid time, in their own cars, with only a meagre mileage allowance.

The unpaid time community support workers spent driving between clients during working hours was unjust, retiring Heaphy's Home Support director Pat Heaphy said.

"Irrespective of the tough economic times, it would be immoral for the Government to let this situation continue."

Heaphy recently sold Heaphy's Home Support, which cares for 920 elderly people in the Nelson region. He said he planned to combine retirement with advocating for the low-paid workers he had spent the past 11 1/2 years working with.

He said Heaphy's, and other providers like it, received insufficient funding to increase workers' wages or mileage, and the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board was also hamstrung because it did not receive enough money to pass on to the aged-care sector.