Leading Social Care Representative Calls for Government to “Dig Deeper” on Fair Pay Agreement

Care England, the largest and most diverse representative of adult social care providers in England, has today (30 September) responded to the Government’s announcement of a £500m funding package to establish the UK’s first Fair Pay Agreement for care workers.

To put today’s announcement in context, the £500m funding package, if directed solely towards raising the pay floor, would translate to a maximum increase of just 15 pence per hour.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said:

“While the creation of a Fair Pay Agreement represents a long-awaited acknowledgement that care work is a skilled profession deserving of fair reward, today’s announcement does little to deliver any meaningful change for our workforce. It is a shame that after so many promises, the outcome amounts to as little as 15 pence per hour if focused solely on pay; something that will make little difference in practice by the people who keep this sector running.

 

For a workforce of 1.6 million people, more than those employed in the NHS, yet still among the lowest paid in our economy, such a limited commitment sends the wrong message about their worth. The Government has raised expectations by branding the Fair Pay Agreement as the answer to the recruitment and retention crisis in the sector, using it to justify the restrictions placed on international recruitment, which many providers previously depended on to keep services running. But with funding this slight, it is hard to see how providers will attract or retain the staff they desperately need, undermining the very purpose of the agreement.”

The Government has confirmed that the new negotiating body will be convened in 2026, with the first round of negotiations commencing 2027, which means care workers will not see any significant improvement in their pay and benefits from this process until 2028 at the earliest.

Crucially, this figure does not account for the erosion of pay differentials that has already taken place following last year’s cost pressures, nor does it allow for inflation over the next three years. Many providers were unable to uplift wages as they would have wished because of the additional burden created by the Chancellor’s increase in Employer National Insurance Contributions

Professor Martin Green OBE continued:

“We recognise this is a journey and that multiple agreements will follow, but the scale of today’s commitment is simply not enough to tackle the immediate challenges to recruit and retain staff that lie in front of us. If the Government truly wants to value the care workforce, it must dig deeper. This announcement may mark a step forward, but without meaningful investment in the years ahead, the sector will continue to see staff leaving at a time when they are needed most.”

Care England will remain closely involved in shaping the Fair Pay Agreement and will urge providers to take part in the consultation so that the negotiating body is grounded in the realities of frontline care delivery.