A message from Rose Thomas-Willis, Deputy Director, Adult Social Care Pay and Careers I am delighted that we have been able to deliver two big milestones for millions of care workers in England by setting out details of how the Fair Pay Agreement will work and expanding the Care Workforce Pathway.
These two reforms recognise the vital work that our incredible adult social care workforce do every day and ensure that this work is valued and rewarded in the way it should be.
The Fair Pay Agreement is a landmark reform that will turn the page on decades of low pay and insecurity for the 1.5 million people working in the sector.
Last year, we ran a public consultation of the design of the Fair Pay Agreement process which received over 1,200 responses. We are hugely grateful to everybody who took the time to help us shape the proposals in the consultation, and everybody who took the time to respond to it. Using this wealth of feedback and insight, we have now finalised our proposals for how Fair Pay Agreements will work in England.
We are introducing a regular negotiation process led by a new Adult Social Care Negotiating Body that will be set up by the end of the year. The Body will bring together trade unions and employers to negotiate on behalf of the sector for the first time. It will give care providers and workers voting rights on key issues including pay, terms and conditions, and wider employment matters through a regular negotiation process.
The first Fair Pay Agreement is backed by £500 million in 2028-29. The details of the agreement will be determined by the negotiation process. I It stands to boost domestic recruitment and retention of carers while growing the economy, raising living standards and creating opportunities for all.
Alongside progress on the Fair Pay Agreement, the government is continuing to expand the Care Workforce Pathway- the first ever universal career structure in adult social care. We have added 10 new role categories to this established framework to further support the professionalisation of our vital adult social care workforce by setting out clear roles, responsibilities and development opportunities for all adult social care roles that are not health or social work, such as catering or maintenance positions.
These two announcements help us strengthen the foundations for the delivery of the government’s mission to create a National Care Service.
I am really proud to have been a part of this work, especially because both policies have involved extensive engagement with the people who know the sector best – employers, workers and unions, amongst others- to ensure we have designed systems that will work for the sector and deliver positive change. As we move into the implementation phase of the work, I am excited to continue this high standard of partnership working.
seen at 11:43, 22 July in Social care.