Investigating variation in pay in adult social care

This research explores variations in pay in England for adult social care workers, who deliver care to vulnerable people in their own homes, residential/nursing care homes or supported accommodation. It also explores how local conditions, such as deprivation, and local authority processes for buying care affect pay variations. Finally, it investigates how pay variations affect workers, for example, leaving their jobs or developing skills.

The research is important because care worker pay is low and this has a negative impact on recruiting workers and keeping them in their jobs. There are often staffing shortages and this negatively affects the care of those in need and the families/friends who support them. For example, care visits may be short or missed, and there might be many different people delivering care to the same person, which is undesirable. Improving pay, the experiences
of care workers, and making sure that care delivered is of high quality is very important.

The research has three parts. The first works with statistics provided by Skills for Care to investigate local conditions, local authority buying processes, pay variation and their impact on workers, care recipients and their friends/families. The second is a survey of organisations that provide adult social care which explores their pay practices and identifies good practice. The final part involves interviews with managers of care organisations and with care workers themselves to explore their views on pay variations and the consequences for care workers,
care recipients and their families.