Comment on SfC’s report & Employment Rights Bill

Skills for Care has today published its annual State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England report (Thursday 10^th October), warning that social care faces ongoing domestic recruitment and retention challenges.

This comes alongside the Government’s unveiling of plans for a new Employment Rights Bill, which includes plans for a Fair Pay Agreement for care workers.

Community Integrated Care’s Chief Corporate Services & People Officer, Teresa Exelby, has responded to these two publications:

“Whilst the headline figures in today’s Skills for Care report show a welcome decrease in the number of job vacancies in social care, it is notable that this improvement has only been achieved by attracting care and support workers from overseas. It is clear the social care sector continues to struggle to attract domestic talent in the absence of fair pay and proper career pathways for employees. And with visa rules now having been tightened the influx of international workers is likely to significantly reduce.

Clearly, politicians have a decision to make. Either loosen the rules surrounding overseas workers or, as Community Integrated Care believe is only right, improve pay and conditions for the social care workforce. With the average wage for a care worker being £11.58 an hour – just 14p above the national minimum wage – it’s no surprise that recruitment and retention remains a challenge.

Today’s unveiling of the Employment Rights Bill is a step in the right direction – and we fully support the Government’s plan to introduce a negotiated Fair Pay Agreement, subject to it being backed up with appropriate financial support for charitable providers.

However, we’re concerned that any Fair Pay Agreement could take thirty months or more before it is introduced. Community Integrated Care therefore believe that an interim uplift in pay – reflecting the skills, complexity and accountability of the frontline support worker role – should be announced in the Budget, or at the very latest in the Financial Statement in March.

This would have the benefit of stabilising the sector by reducing vacancies, turnover of staff and dependency on workers from abroad – concerns which have all been outlined today in Skills for Care’s report. As our Unfair To Care reports demonstrate, Community Integrated Care believe that the Government should then develop a long term plan to bring in parity of pay for care and support workers with those in the NHS doing similar work.”