Workforce Economics report models what it will cost to staff a care home through to 2029
Care Hires’ Workforce Economics 2026 projects staffing costs for a 40-bed home rising by roughly £4,300 per bed, per year by 2029 as legislative changes take effect.
Workforce Economics 2026, a new social care workforce report from Care Hires, the agency management platform for UK care providers, models what the next three years of staffing will cost. It uses a 40-bed residential care home without nursing in the south of England as its example.
The report finds that staffing a care home costs about £620 per bed per week in 2026/27. It then looks at the changes that are already law or formally scheduled:
- National Living Wage uprating in April 2027
- The unfair dismissal qualifying period falling to six months in January 2027
- The Employment Rights Act’s guaranteed hours and shift notice provisions during 2027
- The first Fair Pay Agreement in April 2028
- The closure of the care worker visa route on 22 July 2028
On that basis, the cost rises to £643 per bed per week in 2027/28. By 2028/29 it reaches between £688 and £736 per bed per week, depending on where the Fair Pay Agreement settles. That is an increase of roughly £4,300 per bed per year, or about £172,000 a year for a 40-bed home, before any change in fee income.
Every assumption behind the model is published in the report, with every source and calculation printed. That includes care hours per resident day, salaries and on-costs, so providers can test the figures against their own.
Read the report: Social Care Workforce Economics Report 2026 | Care Hires
About Care Hires: Care Hires is an agency management platform used by social care providers to book, manage and reconcile agency staff. It works with over 1,200 care services and over 1,300 agencies nationwide.