The Care Workers’ Charity (The CWC) welcomes the publication of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s new report, The Hidden Cost of Low Pay in the Social Care Sector, which lays bare the economic and operational consequences of persistently low wages in adult social care.
Adult social care workers play a critical role in supporting people drawing on care across the UK. Yet their pay remains among the lowest in the labour market. The report found that of March 2024, 40% of adult social care workers in England were paid below the Real Living Wage (RLW). At the same time, the sector continues to experience high turnover rates, exceeding those in other low-paid industries such as retail and hospitality.
While policy debate often centres on the cost of increasing wages, this report shifts the focus to the hidden costs of maintaining low pay, particularly the financial and operational strain placed on providers and the wider system. Low pay is a significant driver of workforce instability. Research shows that nine in ten care workers who moved jobs within the sector received a pay rise, excluding uplifts to the National Living Wage.
The financial impact on providers is substantial. The median cost of recruiting a new care worker is estimated at £7,870 per hire, including recruitment, training and agency cover. Beyond these direct costs, turnover also results in lost productivity. The combined cost of recruiting and training a replacement care worker equates to an estimated £9,282 in lost output per vacancy. For providers operating on tight margins, these figures are significant.
The report makes clear that low pay is not only a workforce issue, but also a structural inefficiency that weakens the sector.
Evidence suggests that paying at least the Real Living Wage would require investment, estimated at £21 billion over 15 years. However, this investment would also generate savings: preventing £3.58 billion in lost output across social care, reducing recruitment and agency costs by £2.99 billion, and delivering an estimated £2.7 billion in savings to the NHS through improved stability and flow.
Karolina Gerlich, CEO of The Care Workers’ Charity, said:
“This report reflects what we hear from care workers every day. Care workers are delivering increasingly complex and skilled care, yet too many are struggling to survive on their wages. When 40% of the workforce is paid below the Real Living Wage, the system is not functioning as it should.
Low pay is not a short-term saving. It drives turnover, destabilises providers and creates avoidable costs across the sector and the NHS. We cannot continue to rely on the goodwill of care workers to hold the system together. A properly funded settlement that lifts pay and supports workforce stability is not only fair, but also economically responsible.”
The Care Workers’ Charity supports JRF’s call for a fully funded settlement that raises pay for social care workers and addresses the structural weaknesses in the current system. We are calling on Government to:
- Deliver a fully funded Fair Pay Agreement that genuinely values the care workforce, with clear national pay structures, progression pathways and recognition of skill and responsibility.
- Address the systemic costs of underpayment, including workforce instability, workforce wellbeing, high turnover and wider impact.
- Provide immediate, meaningful pay uplift now, ensuring care workers can afford to remain in the sector while longer-term reform is implemented.
For further information, please contact Sophie Henry at The Care Workers’ Charity at sophie@thecwc.org.uk.