The number of vacant posts in adult social care has increased by a record 52% in one year, an alarming new report has revealed.
The annual report from Skills for Care, an organisation dedicated to supporting the development of the social care workforce, has highlighted the extent of the workforce crisis facing the overstretched care sector.
The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England report found that the care sector is struggling to fill 165,000 vacant posts. This represents an increase in vacancies of 52% and the highest rate on record.
The report also revealed that the number of filled posts – defined as posts with a person working in them – has dropped by 50,000. This is the first drop in the number of social care workers ever.
Skills for Care CEO Oonagh Smyth said that it was important to improve the terms and conditions of social care contracts and to do more to invest in career development.
Referring to the Government’s white paper on adult social care reform published last December, Ms Smyth said: ‘The “People at the heart of care” white paper had commitments to investing in knowledge, skills, health and wellbeing, and recruitment policies to improve social care as a long-term career choice.
‘The implementation of the commitments in that white paper have never been more important so that we can start to build the foundations to ensure that we have the workforce that we need now and in the future.’
According to the Skills for Care’s findings, care workers with five years’ experience are paid 7p per hour more than a care worker with less than one year’s experience.
The average care worker pay is also £1 per hour less than healthcare assistants in the NHS that are new to their roles.
UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea cited low pay as a major factor in the care sector’s ability to recruit and retain staff.
‘Put simply, wages are much too low. The social care sector won't get back on its feet and deliver the support needed by millions if it can't pay the rates needed to attract, keep and promote experienced care workers,’ she said.
Skills for Care’s annual report found that staff turnover rates within care roles remain high at 29% as approximately 400,000 people left their jobs during the last year.
However, not everyone who leaves their job leaves social care, the report said. Around 63% of people working in the sector have been recruited from other care roles.
Social care is still seeing high rates of turnover amongst the youngest staff with 52.6% of people under 20 leaving within 12 months.
Commenting on the findings, Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Community Wellbeing Board, said: ‘This latest report confirms what has been a worrying trend for some years, of persistently high staff turnover and vacancy rates in social care, adding further pressures onto already overstretched services.
‘Ensuring that care workers are paid fairly for their work is central to making a career in care affordable and appealing, as well as ensuring people who draw on care are best able to live an equal life.
‘This is why we have called on the Prime Minister to deliver on her pledge to provide £13bn to tackle the crisis in adult social care. Of this, £3bn is needed to improve care worker pay and help recruit and retain staff.’
