Paid in Poverty: The Price of Being a Care Worker in Britain Today
The ‘Poverty, Pay and the Case for Change in Social Care’ report, published today by The Health Foundation, reveals alarming new evidence that residential care workers and their families are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty as the average UK worker.
Drawing on national survey data from 2021/22 to 2023/24, the analysis paints a bleak picture of persistently high levels of poverty, food insecurity, and material deprivation across England’s social care workforce, a sector that employs 1.6 million people in England alone. Despite delivering essential care, 1 in 5 residential care workers live in poverty, with over 1 in 10 experiencing food insecurity, relying on Universal Credit, or struggling to pay basic bills. Children of care workers are also disproportionately affected, with 1 in 10 going without essentials, such as a warm winter coat.
The report also exposes significant disparities among internationally recruited care workers. Over 1 in 3 care workers born outside the UK are living in poverty, compared to 1 in 10 UK-born care workers. The report warns that “migrant workers in social care are being recruited into poverty.”
This analysis highlights the devastating consequences of chronic underfunding and decades of political inaction and reinforces the urgent need for systemic reform to protect and value the people who care for others every day.
These findings are reinforced by The Care Workers’ Charity’s 2025 Wellbeing Survey Report, which highlights the financial strain care workers are under. Based on responses from over 2,000 care workers across the UK, the survey found that:
- 72.06% of care workers reported not feeling financially secure
- 28.68% had used a food bank in the past year
- 10.80% had used a loan shark/payday loan company. By contrast, in the UK, around 1.1% of the general population have used payday loan companies in 12 months.
- 42.10% either strongly agreed or agreed that they had been feeling unhappy or depressed.
These figures expose the real cost of low pay in the sector, where essential workers are being forced to choose between heating and eating.
The Care Workers’ Charity supports The Health Foundation’s recommendation to increase pay for social care workers in line with the NHS Agenda for Change Band 3, which could increase household incomes by an average of 6.6% and boost workforce retention. Previous modelling by The Health Foundation estimates this would require £2.3 billion in 2028/29.
The report also calls for bold and immediate action on poverty across the UK, including measures such as scrapping the two-child limit on benefits — a policy that disproportionately harms low-income working families. We are proud that our Care Worker Advisory Board and Champions Members helped shape and inform this research by sharing their experiences and expertise. Their voices are critical to ensuring care workers are no longer spoken for but are part of policy conversations and decisions that affect their lives.
Karolina Gerlich, CEO of The Care Workers’ Charity, said: “This report confirms what care workers tell us every day — they are doing vital, highly skilled, emotionally and physically demanding work, while struggling to survive. No one who provides essential care should be living in poverty. We urgently need political courage and investment to turn this around. Raising pay, improving working conditions, and supporting wellbeing must be national priorities. The care workforce is a cornerstone of our society — it’s time they were treated as such.”
Recommendations to Government and Policy Makers
To address this crisis, The Care Workers’ Charity is calling on the Government and policy makers to:
- Implement a fully funded Fair Pay Agreement for social care, developed with input from care workers and sector representatives, to establish national minimum terms and conditions – including pay, training, sick leave, and progression – that reflect the skilled and essential nature of care work.
- Raise pay for care workers, with a commitment to align minimum care worker pay with the NHS Agenda for Change Band 3. This must be supported by central, ring-fenced funding to enable providers and local authorities to meet these standards without reducing care provision.
- Work directly with care workers to co-design workforce policies that reflect real-world challenges and improve retention, wellbeing, and status. Care workers must not only be consulted but also given a seat at the decision-making table.
- Protect and support migrant care workers, who make a vital contribution to the sector, by enforcing fair recruitment practices, ending exploitative conditions, and ensuring access to stable employment, safe housing, and support systems.
- Strengthen workforce wellbeing by investing in mental health support, supervision, and professional development, recognising that a supported workforce delivers better outcomes for those drawing on care and support.
For further information, please contact Sophie Henry at The Care Workers’ Charity on sophie@thecwc.org.uk.