The flagship policy for the social care sector in Labour’s election manifesto was the introduction of “Fair Pay” Agreements for the sector workforce.
But to what extent has this been progressed in the Government’s first 100 days, and what else have we learned about the attention Labour wants to give social care? Here is a summary of our thoughts:
- Adult Social Care Negotiating Body – Labour’s Employment Rights Bill also confirmed its plans to establish an ‘Adult Social Care Negotiating Body’. The Body will comprise trade unions that “represent the interest of social care workers” and “persons representing the interests of employers of social care workers”. There are challenges with assumptions behind both of these statements. First, there are an estimated 1.5 million people working in social care but our experience is that only a small proportion are trade union members. Second, there are an estimated 18,000 employers in the sector with no one group having the authority to represent their interests in negotiations. This could be a big ask of care sector representative bodies. Having pay recommendations made by the Low Pay Commission, based on labour market data, would be a much better way to proceed.
- Fair Pay Agreements – These would be decided by the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body. At this stage, there are more regulations to be published and consultations which will follow, so no agreements will be in place until autumn 2026 at the very least.
- Enforcement – Where the outcomes of pay negotiations are ratified by the Secretary of State, they would become mandatory for the sector and would be enforced in the same way as the National Minimum Wage. This is a laudable aim. Whilst we agree with having a base minimum for the social care workforce that is higher than the National Living Wage, this is currently viewed through the sole lens of the worker. £28 billion of the public purse is spent on social care annually at rates that do not allow any employers to provide the terms and conditions they would aspire to. The Government must estimate the likely costs of its plans to the public purse and ensure employers delivering publicly funded care are funded to deliver Fair Pay Agreements. The Government has been clear on the difficult state of public finances, so it must provide reassurance to the sector that every commissioner of health or social care services will have an obligation to fund care at rates sufficient to pay staff in accordance with Fair Pay Agreements.
- ‘Exploitative’ zero-hours contracts – In the Employment Rights Bill the Government hasn’t put a stop to all zero-hours contracts. Workers on regular hours will have the choice to move to a guaranteed-hours contract but also have the choice to remain on zero-hours contracts. There will also be rights to be given reasonable notice of shift changes which will be challenging for the homecare market. Any legislative changes made in relation to this term will need far greater clarity and we are in the place of awaiting further regulations to flesh out the detail.
- Funding for the sector and a plan for the future – Rachel Reeves’ swift decision to abandon the Conservatives’ proposed cap on care costs was a recognition that it was not a funded plan. However, now that plan has been abandoned, the Government should seek to achieve cross-party consensus on meeting social care needs sustainably so that long-term reform can be implemented without being subject to changes in Government.
With the changes in Labour’s Employment Rights Bill now confirmed, the road ahead is at least starting to become a little clearer for the sector but much detail is still awaited. Amends to statutory sick pay (SSP) for one means more workers will be entitled to SSP full stop from day one of sickness. Social care providers must be aware of the costs such changes bring and move quickly to ensure they don’t get caught out.