Page 67 - Unfair To Care 2024 - Who Cares Wins

Based on these five design principles, the journey to fair pay in social care could have three main stages, that could start before and continue after, the 2024 General Election:
STAGE 1.
STAGE 2.
STAGE 3.
IMMEDIATE ACTION:
An immediate uplift to pay funded by government so that all frontline care and support workers receive
at least parity with the midpoint of the hourly ‘basic pay’ level of NHS Band 3 staff in 2024/25.
One approach to achieving this could be through a ring-fenced government grant to local authorities, to embed this level of pay as a requirement in their contracts with care providers.
WITHIN 12 MONTHS FOLLOWING THE GENERAL ELECTION:
A new social care sector-specific minimum pay deal for the care workforce is agreed and funded nationally. This could be implemented within 12 months of the next general election as a new national minimum wage level for frontline care and support workers, based on the principle of working towards ‘Total Pay’ parity with NHS equivalent staff.
Recognising the complexity of the care market, the need for objective analysis of this issue, and the requirements for these issues to be resolved with limited delays, one option could be for the Low Pay Commission to undertake this task with a fresh mandate
as the Fair Pay Commission.
WITHIN THE LIFETIME OF THE NEXT PARLIAMENT:
A new national social care workforce plan is developed through a new government-
led national care partnership forum, with technical support and leadership from Skills for Care.
This plan should have within its scope
the development of a national social care pay-scale (with appropriate
job evaluation benchmarking and bandings), a fully-funded training and qualifications career structure, and
a five-year plan that identifies and tackles the workforce shortages in all roles, in all social care services, and at every level in the social care workforce.
This must draw upon the experiences and insight of people who access support, the people who deliver it, and the providers and key stakeholders that operate within the sector.
This workforce strategy must be comprehensive and fulfil the wider need to make it a viable, respected, and sustainable career, that breaks the stereotype of being a low-skilled sector of last resort. This includes a greater focus on learning and development and qualifications, registration, improved career pathways, and strategic workforce development and support from an ambitious and empowered national institution.
SECTION 9: THE CALL FOR GOVERNMENT ACTION
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