Page 27 - Unfair To Care 2024 - Who Cares Wins

£
£10.93
National Living Wage 2023/24
£10.42
Real Living Wage
£12.00
Living wage levels compared to pay of care and support staff
-51P -5%
SECTION 5: THE RESULTS – 2023/24
Care and support staff average pay
+£1.07
+10%
IT CANNOT BE RIGHT THAT
A JOB THAT WAS RATED SO HIGHLY BY KORN FERRY FOR ITS SKILL, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND DEMANDS IS ALIGNED SO CLOSELY TO THE ABSOLUTE MINIMUM PAY RATES POSSIBLE.
As we explore further in this report, life
on a below Real Living Wage salary can
be brutal – as people struggle to meet everyday costs to provide for themselves and their loved ones. Whilst social care can be filled with joy, it is also not uncommon to encounter colleagues who are facing unbearable realities – foodbank use, debt, the risk of homelessness, and seeing themselves and their families miss out on important experiences and opportunities – from supporting children through university, to improving their household conditions.
LIFTING FROM THE FLOOR
The close connection of social care pay to the National Living Wage may result in a further escalation of the workforce challenges in the sector over the year ahead, unless resolved.
In April 2024, the National Living Wage will rise from
£10.42 to £11.4432. This clearly exceeds the average social care rate of pay – left unaddressed, social care will become a sector that pays people the very lowest wages in society. Without
any differential in pay, it is apparent that many social care workers will choose to access far easier and less accountable roles that offer the same – or better – terms and benefits.
And the unfair gap between frontline care and support workers and their NHS equivalents on Band 3 will increase again when the 2024/25 pay increase for NHS staff is announced (expected May 2024).
Fair pay, through a policy commitment to achieve parity with the NHS, is the only way to ensure that frontline care and support workers receive an appropriate and fair reward for the job they do and reduce the drain from social care to the NHS.
This report’s pay data, obviously, represents a snapshot in time. Rates will change and evolve, with rises in the National Living Wage and developments in the job market. However, the Unfair To Care series and long- term care sector workforce trends clearly indicate that where a prominent pay gap exists between social care and the NHS, and when care lacks competitivity in the overall jobs marketplace, social care will always face
a systemic recruitment and retention challenge.
32. ‘Minimum wage rates for 2024’, HM Government, November 2023
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