Adult social care workforce in England

Around 1.59 million people worked in the adult social care sector in England in 2023/24. Around a quarter of the workforce were on zero-hours contracts, including 47% of home care workers.

Recruitment and retention issues

The sector faces several longstanding workforce challenges, including:

• High vacancy rates: Skills for Care, the workforce development and planning body for adult social care in England, estimates an average of 8.3% of social care roles were vacant in 2023/24, equivalent to approximately 131,000 vacancies. The number of vacancies has decreased since 2021/22, driven by increased international recruitment. However, vacancies remain high compared to the wider UK economy.
• Rising demand: demand for social care is rising and this is expected to continue.
• Limited opportunities for career progression and little standardisation of training and qualifications.
• Low pay: care worker pay is among the lowest in the economy and the pay differential for more experienced staff has narrowed.

Several reports have said underfunding of social care is a key factor behind workforce issues in the sector. However, the previous government disagreed that the sector had been underfunded.

In July 2024, Skills for Care published a workforce strategy for adult social care for the next 15 years. This set out a series of recommendations and commitments divided into three areas: attract and retain, train, and transform.

Government policy

In December 2021, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) published a white paper on wider plans for social care reform. Chapter six set out the government’s strategy for the social care workforce, to be supported by investment of at least £500 million in workforce development between 2022/23 and 2024/25.

Following the publication of a further policy paper in April 2023, the funding for workforce development was reduced to £250 million. The remaining funding was instead allocated to local authorities via a grant ring-fenced for social care.

Labour government policy

The current government has said it will continue some of the reforms begun under the previous government, including the development of a national workforce pathway for adult social care. However, it has reduced planned funding for training and development and for social work apprenticeships as part of efforts to “manage down overall fiscal pressures in 2024/25”.

In its manifesto for the 2024 general election, the Labour Party said it would establish a collective Fair Pay Agreement which “will set fair pay, terms and conditions, along with training standards” in adult social care. The Employment Rights Bill, which was introduced to Parliament on 10 October 2024, provides for the establishment of an Adult Social Care Negotiating Body, with a remit including the remuneration and terms and conditions of social care workers.

The manifesto also said a Labour Government would ensure “the publication of regular, independent workforce planning, across health and social care”, and would introduce legislation “banning exploitative zero hours contracts”.

International recruitment

In February 2022, the government made care workers eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa. This led to an increase in the number of people arriving in the UK to take up social care jobs, which contributed to a reduction in vacancies during 2022/23 and 2023/24. In December 2023, the government announced changes to the visa rules aimed at reducing immigration. As part of the changes, from March 2024 social care workers have not been allowed to bring dependents on their visa.

Stakeholders have acknowledged the role of international recruitment in alleviating workforce pressures but have also suggested that immigration is not a long-term solution to the sector’s workforce issues. Concerns have also been raised about the ill-treatment of some international recruits.

Concerns have also been raised that changes to visa rules from March 2024 could exacerbate existing workforce pressures if they lead to a reduction in the number of people coming to the UK to take jobs in social care. However, the previous government said it did not think the change would lead to a significant reduction in demand.

Other countries of the UK

This briefing covers England only. Brief information on the social care workforce in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is provided in a series of explainers published by the Nuffield Trust.