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If you would like to cover the Pay Fair For Social Care campaign, call 0300 303 9062 or email duncan.bell@dimensions-uk.org
A message from Rachael Dodgson, Dimensions Chief Executive
“It is incredibly encouraging to see the country unite behind our cause and recognise the vast importance of our social care workforce and the difference they make to the people they support.
“Every day, thousands of social care and support workers undertake complex delegated nursing tasks and support people to make choices and gain control over their life. They maintain family relationships, help with friendships, support with employment and personal care.
“They are skilled, professional workers.”
Download the campaign press releases
We launched the petition then handed it into 10 Downing Street when it got over 76,000 signatures to show this is an issue important to tens of thousands of people. The petition is still live and is currently at over 78,000 signatures.
“Social care deserves same respect as NHS” – the sector and public demand parity of pay to address workforce challenges
Equal pay petition, backed by over 76,000 people, handed into No.10 Downing Street
Pictured above: Rachael Dodgson (Dimensions CEO), Vivek (someone we support) and Rt Hon Damian Green MP
The campaign continues to develop, MPs across the country are being invited by people we support to visit them in their homes and see what’s important to them.
The social care crisis has been escalating for decades and becomes ever more urgent to address by the day. Dimensions’ petition calls for an essential change that I believe will go a long way towards preventing skilled social care workers from leaving the workforce for better paid roles elsewhere. We cannot fix the NHS without addressing the problem in social care first, and increasing pay to attract more staff is one key element of this.
Key information and data
At over 78,000 signatures, Dimensions petition to align social care pay, minimum, with NHS Band 3, was launched in the wake of £250 million being cut from funding promised to the social care workforce. This is at time when urgent action is required to prioritise recruitment and retention.
Damian Green MP, Paul Blomfield, Labour MP and Zack Polanski, Deputy Leader of the Green Party urge government to give social care the recognition it so urgently needs.
- 80% of the public say social care is as important or deserves the same respect as the NHS.
- Only 6% do not think social care workers should receive the same pay as NHS Band 3 workers.
- There are currently around 165,000 social care vacancies – an increase of 52% since 2020-21 (Skills for Care, 2022).
- At present, four in ten social care workers earn less than the real living wage (Skills for Care, 2022).
- Between 2013-2020, a sales assistant went from earning 13p per hour less than a care worker to 21p more on average (Skills for Care, 2022).
- Social care providers are restricted in increasing pay by tough limits on local authority budgets.
After years of delayed reform, urgent action is needed to prioritise recruitment and retention and encourage a pool of dedicated workers into social care careers for the long-term. In Scotland, the First Minister has recently announced that social care staff will receive at least £12 an hour from April 20242, but the rest of the UK is yet to follow suit.
The government mustn’t shirk responsibility for social care staff any longer. They set the funding for the sector and by cutting local councils have held down wages, undervaluing care workers and creating a staffing crisis. We need to align care wages with the NHS recognising its dependence on social care.
Case studies and quotes
We all work tirelessly…but we’re often treated as an afterthought by policymakers
Ben Spencer, 36, is a Support Worker for Dimensions working in Worcestershire. He began his journey into the social care sector so he could understand more about his own autism. Dimensions has been supportive in making adaptations to allow him to be the best Support Worker he can be, and for that reason, Ben has been able to thrive in his career.
The work of care and support workers is easily as important as nursing work and good care packages keep people from ending up in the kind of crises that put more pressure on hospitals. For decades there has been a need to value the people working in this vital career and attract the highest calibre candidates.
I have witnessed first-hand the transformative power of social care and its profound impact on individuals and their families
Susan Adewale, 35, is a Relief Support Worker in Newcastle who has found immense fulfilment in her work. “I adore working for an organisation which is committed to making a positive difference in people’s lives. I have witnessed first-hand the transformative power of social care and its profound impact on individuals and their families. The opportunity to make a meaningful difference, no matter how small, fuels my enthusiasm every day.”
My son is completely dependent on his carers. They give him quality of life and keep him safe. Without them he would not be able to live at all. Social care workers are crucial, important and highly valued members of society. The person who helps me keep my house clean gets above minimum wage. The people who look after my most precious son should be paid so much more. Time to end this disgraceful injustice.
She has experienced belittling labels such as ‘glorified bum wiper’ and feels that people often lack an understanding of the value of support workers
Jorden Carter is a Lead Support Worker at Dimensions. Jorden’s mum has worked in the social care sector since Jorden was three, so she grew up seeing the rewards and challenges of the job. In 2018 Jorden decided to follow in her mum’s footsteps, and work at the same location that her mum started in. She moved to a Dimensions location in April 2022.
Rt Hon Damian Green MP photo sourced from parallelparliament.co.uk
Paul Blomfield MP photo sourced from members.parliament.uk
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