Fair minimum in social care

New TUC research shows that raising wages to a fair minimum of £15 an hour across the social care sector would boost England’s economy by £7.7 billion.

The vacancy rate in the sector increased to a record 10.7% in 2021-22, with low pay and job insecurity the main cause of a recruitment and retention crisis.

As well as reducing staff turnover and helping fill the thousands of vacancies in the care service, the move would also have wider economic benefits in the areas where care workers live and work, says the TUC. Northern and Midlands towns with higher levels of income deprivation would benefit the most.