Care chiefs urge government to place social care staff on par with NHS

In response to over one million NHS staff being given a pay rise of at least £1,400 with the lowest earners receiving up to 9.3 per cent, care chiefs are calling on the government to place adult social care staff on an equal footing with NHS staff.

Under the Agenda for Change contract, nurses, paramedics and midwives will benefit from a pay rise of at least £1,400 this year backdated to April 2022.

This is on top of the three per cent pay rise they received last year, despite a wider public sector pay pause.

However, Care England, the Independent Care Group (ICG) and the Voluntary Organisations Disability (VODG) warn that years of government underfunding to the social care sector has “hampered providers’ efforts” to recruit and retain staff thus not only affecting the “overall financial attractiveness” of the adult social care sector as a whole but also hampering the providers’ ability to compete with the NHS.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said: “The adult social care workforce is our biggest resource.

“As a first step, Care England suggests the government accepts the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission for the 2023 rates, however, this increase must be properly funded.

“Simply applying National Living Wage inflation without appropriate funding undermines the ability of providers to aid workforce pressures, especially given the fact that providers are having to pay increases above the National Living Wage annual uplifts as a means of recruiting and retaining staff."

He also called for bonuses for care staff in England, as the Scottish and Welsh governments have done, in recognition of their "heroic efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic".

“Care England would implore the English government to follow suit as a means of not only recognising the efforts of our staff but creating a greater sense of parity with NHS colleagues.

“The adult social care workforce needs to be seen for what it is; an exciting, challenging, professional career and we have to ensure that staff are remunerated accordingly.”

'Social care cannot match the pay offered by the NHS'

In a report published by Skills for Care, it recorded the number of vacant posts has increased by 55,000 (52 per cent) over the last two years across all direct care roles.

Chair of the ICG, Mike Padgham said: “Shocking as they are, nobody can be surprised at these figures as care providers on the front line know that it is becoming impossible to fill care vacancies and they are struggling to give people the care they need.

“Social care already cannot match the pay offered by the NHS and the £1,400 pay rise for those workers, though very, very well deserved, will widen that gap even further, making it even harder for social care providers to recruit.

“Local authorities who commission care, themselves strapped for cash after years of austerity, cannot pay providers a true price for the care that is provided, making it impossible for those providers, in turn, to pay staff properly and in line with their NHS counterparts."

In another report published this month, the ADASS Spring Survey 2022, it states directors are expected to deliver £597m in savings to their budgets for this year (2022/23), meaning they have to find £1.8bn in savings over the last three years. However, only a quarter of directors are fully confident they can deliver the expected savings this year and six per cent say they have no confidence.

Additionally, seven in 10 directors say care providers in their area have closed, ceased trading or handed back contracts to local councils and many more cannot deliver the increased care and support needed due to staffing shortfalls.

Mr Padgham adds: “The ADASS Spring Survey confirms what we have been telling government for some time – that the current funding for care and support services is pushing people’s social care services to the brink.

"Increasing levels of unmet need, mounting workforce pressures, and a failure by government to provide sufficient financial resources all contribute to the bleak picture painted by directors of adult social care services today."

The pay gap is 'simply unacceptable'

Recent research commissioned by VODG member Community Integrated Care, indicated many social care workers would be paid an additional £7,000 if they worked in other public funded sectors including the NHS.

With inflation rising to a new 40-year high, reaching 9.4 per cent last month, the charity warn the pay gap is “simply unacceptable” and without a pay rise for those working in the social care sector these pressures will only “intensify this year and next”.

Dr Rhidian Hughes, chief executive of VODG, said: “Yesterday’s announcement is problematic because pay uplifts are below inflation and VODG stands alongside colleagues in the NHS and other services in calling for a fairer package.

"The health and care levy and uplifts to the national living wage are both urgently needed to support the retention and recruitment of social care staff. We must, however, see a greater proportion of levy funding being made available, immediately, to support the social care workforce."