Fair Pay must mean fair funding: Homecare Association warns Government social care pledge falls short
The Homecare Association has welcomed the Government’s funding announcement of £500 million to develop a Fair Pay Agreement for social care but warns funding falls far short of what’s needed to make fair pay a reality.
Improving pay, terms and conditions for careworkers is long overdue. A Fair Pay Agreement has the potential to deliver real progress in valuing the skilled and professional work of careworkers. However, without fundamental reform to the way the State commissions and contracts homecare, the Government risks worsening the very problems it claims to solve. Headline pay rates are only part of the picture, security of income and total earnings are equally vital, and these can only be achieved with improvements to commissioning and contracting of services.
Currently, local authorities and the NHS continue to purchase care at rates well below the cost of employing care workers legally and safely and delivering high quality sustainable services currently calculated by the Homecare Association at £32.14 per hour. Unless this changes, no agreement, however well intentioned, will deliver lasting improvements for the workforce or the people they support.
If a Fair Pay Agreement were to set care worker wages at £15 per hour, a commonly cited benchmark, this would leave a funding deficit in homecare alone of £2.67 billion. Even if pay were aligned with NHS Band 3 rates (for staff with 2+ years’ experience, at £13.13 per hour), the funding gap in homecare would still stand at £1.97 billion.
The Government has suggested that local authorities will raise additional funds to support implementation of the Fair Pay Agreement and other measures in the Employment Rights Bill, but the Homecare Association warns this is unrealistic given the fragile financial state of local government.
Dr Jane Townson OBE, Chief Executive of the Homecare Association, said:
“We support the principle of a Fair Pay Agreement that improves pay and conditions for care workers. They deserve recognition, respect, and reward for the vital work they do.
But good intentions aren’t enough. The funding announced today barely scratches the surface of the multi‑billion‑pound gap in homecare. Most public bodies continue to commission homecare at rates far below the cost of delivering it and that simply isn’t sustainable. Trying to deliver a Fair Pay Agreement without fair funding is like promising to fill the potholes but only buying the shovel. It’s a fool’s errand.
For a Fair Pay Agreement to succeed, we must fix the funding model. This means national investment and a national approach to commissioning that ensures providers are resourced to deliver on their obligations as good employers.
Improving pay for care workers isn’t just about fairness for staff, it’s about enabling consistent, high-quality care for the people who rely on it. When providers can’t afford to recruit or retain skilled workers, it’s older and disabled people who suffer through missed visits, rushed appointments or no care at all.”
The Government has not yet set out the scope or coverage of the proposed Fair Pay Agreement. The Homecare Association continues to engage constructively in discussions alongside unions and other stakeholders, drawing on our expertise and knowledge of the homecare sector.
ENDS
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