Over 3 in 4 adults in England believe care workers are paid too little, survey finds

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13th September 2024 13:00 - Health

Over 3 in 4 adults in England believe care workers are paid too little: According to recent research by The Health Foundation and Nuffield Trust, 77% of adults in England believe care workers are paid too little, showing that public support for improving their pay is high.

Public opinion data was gathered through a survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of The Health Foundation and Nuffield Trust. The survey, carried out in November 2023, included responses from 1,774 individuals in England regarding pay in social care. The report also incorporated data from Skills for Care’s Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set and the Office for National Statistics. Additionally, insights were collected from over 40 stakeholders across the social care sector, including care workers, policy-makers, individuals with lived experience of care, as well as representatives from care provider organisations, trade unions, local government, and charities.

When asked about policy options to improve pay, 89% supported stronger enforcement of the national living wage for all UK social care workers, such as higher fines for employers who underpay them. All suggested policies received over 65% support, but the measure with the lowest support was giving social care workers bonus payments (65%), such as incentives to encourage them to remain in their roles during the winter months. Eleven percent opposed this suggested policy.

Other potential policy options included increasing the national living wage for all UK workers, not just social care workers (75% support), setting a minimum pay rate for social care workers above the national living wage (77% support), and establishing a social care pay scale that sets pay rates for different social care workers based on their roles, skills, and experience – supported by 85% of adults in England.

Nuffield Trust and The Health Foundation concluded that sustainable funding, mechanisms to determine wage levels, and monitoring and enforcement are the key levers needed to successfully design, implement and enforce the policy options to help increase care workers’ wages.

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