I didn’t get into social care for the money – but I deserve a pay rise

My employer and I are fighting for people like me to get a much-deserved pay-rise (Picture: Brett Heyder)

Two years ago, in my role as a social care worker, I started supporting John* – a man with profound learning disabilities.

John loves to explore and go for long walks, and our matching high energy levels meant we just clicked instantly. 

I’ve recently started taking him to weekly swimming sessions at our local hydro pool, too. He adores the sensory play in the water. Seeing his face light up is always one of my favourite parts of the week. 

John has been receiving care since he was a teenager and his mum said that she’s never been more content with his support than she is now. I can’t help but feel proud. 

Every day in my role with Dimensions – as a Lead Support worker – I’m supporting John to achieve freedom, choice, and the opportunity to expand his horizons. 

Except, workers like me don’t feel like we’re being valued or recognised by the government. While other sectors’ wages have increased in recent years with the cost-of-living, social care is lagging behind.  

So, my employer and I are fighting for people in this field to get a much-deserved pay-rise. 

None of us enter this job for the money, that’s for sure, but it’s come to a point where many feel they can’t afford to live off the wage we receive. 

I love my job and I’m gutted I didn’t find this career sooner (Picture: Brett Heyder)

Between 2013-2020, a typical sales assistant has gone, on average, from earning 13p per hour less than a care worker to 21p more. 

As a result, there’s now 165,000 job vacancies in the sector – the highest since records began.

Some support workers are trained to anticipate and minimise people’s distress. Many hold delegated nursing responsibilities. Many routinely administer medication, and manage common health issues ranging from epilepsy to dysphagia.

My role involves all of the above, working in a supported living location to support five gentlemen with severe learning disabilities. It’s different every day, but involves helping them in their day-to-day lives, personal care, and supporting them with activities such as shopping – ultimately helping to ensure they can lead an ordinary life.  

We’re a highly skilled workforce – experts in the individual needs of the people we support. 

I’m calling for the government to align minimum care worker pay to NHS Band 3, currently £11.67 per hour. This would provide us with a salary that more closely matches our skills and responsibilities.  

In a cost-of-living crisis, people can’t afford to take jobs based on satisfaction alone (Picture: Brett Heyder)

Care and support worker pay is not sufficient and does not reflect the training we undertake, nor the emotional and physical hard work we do on a daily basis to help people live fulfilling lives.  

Despite everything, I’m gutted I didn’t find this career sooner. After the pandemic forced an end to my job within the leisure industry, I applied for a role as a support worker, not really knowing what it entailed. 

But from day one, I loved it. 

My early days were spent soaking in all the knowledge, information, and training I could find to ensure I was equipped with everything I needed to be a great support worker. 

Although the information and extensive training was both mentally and physically tiring, I knew this would be a job I loved and excelled at.  

The salary back then wasn’t brilliant, but after losing out on regular hours during the pandemic, I was grateful to be in a fulfilling job with enough money to get me by.   

It’s disheartening to know that I could walk into a better job in retail tomorrow (Picture: Brett Heyder)

Since then, I have continued to progress in my career, advancing from a support worker to a lead support worker and I have hopes to continue progressing within the sector. My pay has gradually increased as I’ve taken on more responsibilities – but so has the cost of living. 

I knew early on in this job that the pay would never be amazing. I took it because I knew the job satisfaction would far outweigh the salary. But in a cost-of-living crisis, people can’t afford to take jobs based on satisfaction alone. 

Prospective applicants are deterred from jobs in social care, regardless of how rewarding it is. We’re also seeing many within the sector seek other opportunities as they’re left feeling unsupported and underappreciated.  

It’s disheartening to know that I could walk into a better paid role in the NHS, retail, or hospitality tomorrow. 

Earlier this year, health unions voted to accept a pay deal that will see more than a million NHS staff in England receive a 5% pay rise. This is an important recognition of the vital work they carry out. 

The job is incredibly tiring, mentally and physically (Picture: Brett Heyden)

However, while the NHS receives this well-deserved recognition and respect, social care continues to go unnoticed and undervalued. 

Unfortunately, we can’t solve this by striking. The individuals we support need us on a daily basis. But to address vacancies we need change; we need the government to recognise the social care sector and address our concerns.

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This starts with funding. In April the government announced plans for a ‘new care workforce pathway’ backed by an initial £250m in funding – that is just half of what was pledged to deal with skills and training in the white paper on adult social care reform published in December 2021. 

I would urge anyone considering a career within the social care sector to give it a shot, it is truly the most rewarding and inspiring job. But I know those words alone aren’t convincing enough. 

We need to unite the voices of myself, my colleagues, and the public to highlight the problems in the system and drive forward real change to address pay disparities.   

Join Brett in his call for the government to align care worker pay with NHS Band 3 by signing Dimensions’ petition at: https://www.change.org/social-care-pay 

*Name has been changed 

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I’m calling for the government to align minimum care worker pay to NHS Band 3, currently £11.67 per hour.