“Social Care Workers Still Earn More Than £7,000 Less Than NHS Counterparts, Report Finds”

Adult social care workers continue to earn significantly less than colleagues carrying out comparable roles in the NHS, despite recent increases to the National Living Wage, according to a new workforce report.

The latest Unfair to Care 2026 – Signs of Change report, published by Community Integrated Care, found that support workers in adult social care take home an average of £7,048 less each year than NHS Band 3 staff performing work of similar responsibility, accountability and complexity. The report estimates this represents a take-home pay gap of 28.6%.

Researchers say the gap remains one of the biggest barriers to recruitment and retention across the sector, with many providers continuing to lose experienced staff to better-paid NHS roles.

Rising Costs Add Further Pressure

The report also highlights the growing financial pressures facing care providers.

Operating costs are estimated to have increased by around 9% during 2025/26, driven by higher National Living Wage rates, increased employer National Insurance contributions and wider inflationary pressures. At the same time, providers continue to face increasing demand for services while working within constrained budgets.

Adult social care currently employs around 1.59 million people in England, yet vacancy rates remain at approximately 7%, more than three times the wider UK average, according to the report.

Fair Pay Agreement Offers Hope

The Government’s proposed Fair Pay Agreement has been welcomed as a positive step towards improving pay and conditions for care workers.

However, the report concludes that the current funding proposals are unlikely to eliminate the pay gap on their own. While additional investment could improve hourly rates, the authors believe a significant difference in earnings between social care and equivalent NHS roles would still remain.

Why It Matters

For providers across health and social care, workforce recruitment and retention remain among the sector’s biggest challenges.

Many organisations continue to invest heavily in staff wellbeing, career development and workplace culture, but leaders have repeatedly warned that improving pay remains essential if the sector is to build a stable, sustainable workforce capable of meeting rising demand.

As discussions around long-term funding continue, the report is likely to add further weight to calls for greater recognition of the value and complexity of care work.

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