It is 'immoral' and 'illogical' that care workers are underpaid by £7,000 a year

Care workers are underpaid by as much as 39 per cent or nearly £7,000 per year in comparison to their peers in equivalent positions in other public funded sectors, according to new research.

Community Integrated Care’s Unfair to Care report found the average pay for support workers in England who assist people to live independently in the community was £17,695, or £9.05 per hour, 45p below the Real Living Wage.

Korn Ferry, the global experts in job role evaluations, found roles with equivalent scope, complexity and accountability within other public funded sectors are, on average, paid £24,602.

'This is immoral, illogical, and cannot be justified'

Mark Adams, chief executive of Community Integrated Care, said: “The moral case for investment in social care and its workforce has, sadly, been ignored for years. This research now provides cold hard facts, which surely cannot be ignored by the government. Our research proves in other related sectors, many frontline support workers would be getting paid at least £6,907 more per year. This is immoral, illogical, and cannot be justified.”

With the social care sector losing more than 34 per cent of its employees every year and having 112,000 vacancies presently, this research brings into stark focus the roots of an unprecedented workforce crisis.

This analysis has led to calls for the government to resolve what they describe as ‘an injustice played out on a grand scale across society’ and to provide an immediate and fair pay rise to social care workers and deliver a robust social care sector people plan, which ensures long-term parity of pay with other public funded sectors.

Mr Adams said: “This is a significant challenge, but it can be fixed – firstly, by recognising the £46bn contribution social care makes to the UK economy annually, and also delivering progressive reforms that improve efficiency and quality of live through delivering joined-up services, reducing the burden on family carers and embracing innovations. All evidence points to overwhelming public support for investment in the sector."

He added: "It is a matter of national shame that social care workers, who provide such an invaluable service to society, are in such desperate circumstances. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, frontline workers have risked their health to protect those who need their support. Most have done so below the poverty line and without the basic safety net of sick pay. This cannot continue.”

’It also highlights how care roles require ongoing upskilling’

The ‘Unfair to Care’ report also outlines astonishing personal crises, such as mental health challenges, homelessness, family breakdowns that are played out across the sector, due to low pay. It also shows how the turnover of the sector impacts upon the quality-of-care that people receive – showing that the loss of a much-loved support worker can be felt like a bereavement to people who access care.

Vic Rayner, chief executive of the National Care Forum said the 'Unfair to Care' report is hard-hitting and hard to believe that "in 2021 the country sees social care workers who are highly skilled, doing complex work and yet being paid at minimum wage.

“The Korn Ferry research is extremely important. It provides an independent perspective on care worker roles and enables them to be externally evaluated and compared with other public sector roles.

“It brings to light that care work should be viewed as a comparable role to that of colleagues within health and other public sector services. This level of responsibility, requiring the care worker to respond to constantly changing needs and complexity of tasks shows the skills, resilience and personal qualities needed in these roles. It also highlights how care roles require ongoing upskilling through training and high levels of knowledge to understand how best to offer care and support that changes lives.”

’Care workers need a proper living wage for the amazing work they do’

The report also states pay is only part of the solution needed to both fix the employment crisis and to extend the societal impact of social care.

Its recommendations include a significant expansion of training and development options, a focus on creating routes to career progression, the introduction of professional registration, campaigns to raise the esteem of the sector, a focus on diversity and inclusion, investment in mental health support, and reward and recognition strategies.

Oonagh Smyth, chief executive of Skills for Care, says: “Community Integrated Care has brought together a wide range of data and thinking, including from our Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set, to make the clear case our 1.5 million workforce are highly skilled professionals, who deserve to be recognised as such as we enter a period of promised reform.

“We believe that policies to reform adult social care will not be successful unless they address the needs of the workforce, through a social care people plan and comprehensive workforce planning, underpinned by data and an understanding of our workforce now and in the future.”

Rachel Harrison, GMB National Officer, commented: “Care workers need a proper living wage for the amazing work they do – and proper professionalisation of the service. We need nothing less if we want a care system worthy of the name.”