Proposals for Reform
We welcome the long-overdue measures to support adult social care staff, proposed in the Employment Rights Bill published in October. The Bill calls for the creation of an Adult Social Care Negotiating Body (which would have representation from unions representing social care staff and sector employers), to make agreements about the pay, terms and conditions of adult social care workers in England. The Bill also provides for an end to “exploitative” zero-hour contracts and would abolish the lower earnings limit for statutory sick pay, which would become payable from the first day of a person’s absence.
Homecare Association’s chief executive Jane Towson fully supported “measures to enhance workers’ rights and improve job security”. However, there is a lack of clarity as to how these measures will be funded.
Homecare Association’s Report on Fee Rates published, (pre budget), in August this year, identified that Councils’ average fee rates for domiciliary care providers was more than £5 an hour below the minimum necessary for services to meet costs. This combined with the increase in National Insurance following the October Budget, risks pushing care providers out of business, further exacerbating the current shortage in care staff.
Unless government follows the recommendations made by the Homecare Association to provide adequate and ring-fenced funding to local authorities to enable them to pay a fair price for care. (“For careworkers to receive a wage of around £13.13 per hour equivalent to NHS Band 3 ( 2+ years experience) the required fee rate is £31.51 per hour”,1 as at August 2024) the hoped for improvements in adult social care will not materialise.
1. Homecare Association - Fee Rates for State Funded Homecare in 2024- 2025.
