A £2,000 pay hike for care workers is needed to address a deepening staffing crisis in the sector, according to a report The Fabian Society is urging the Government to earmark £1.5 billion for the wage increase for over half a million care staff across England.
Supported by Unison, the report suggests setting a higher minimum wage specifically for healthcare assistants performing clinical duties.
It warns that current low pay rates make care roles unappealing for many jobseekers, exacerbating problems filling 120,000 vacant positions in care homes and other support services in England.
Furthermore, the report highlights upcoming changes indicated in the Government’s Immigration White Paper, which will restrict care companies from recruiting abroad.
“This makes it all the more urgent that the care sector increases its appeal as a career destination for UK workers,”said the report.
Joe Dromey, general secretary of the Fabian Society, said: “The treatment of the social care workforce is a national scandal. Care workers deliver vital support, yet they face poverty pay, chronic insecurity, and have few opportunities for progression.”
Christina McAnea, Unison’s general secretary, said: “Raising wages in care is the first step to turning around this beleaguered sector. Care work is highly skilled, as anyone with a relative in care knows only too well, but it’s paid as if it’s a low-skilled job.
“That’s why too few people want to work in the sector and employers have become so dependent on staff from overseas. Raising wages in care is going to cost money, but it’s a price well worth paying.
“For too long, governments have got away with funding care on the cheap. This has helped create the current crisis, which is harming the NHS, failing the people who need care and leaving many families struggling to cope.
“Until care wages rise, the sector will never be able to recruit the staff needed and those gaps in the workforce will increase as the UK’s population ages.
“Care work is tough, and people can earn more delivering parcels or making coffee on the high street. By finding the cash to fund wage rises in care, the Government will be showing it’s serious about transforming the sector.
“This will go down well with the public and help create the promised national care service the country needs so desperately.”
