The Scottish government's pledge to fund the Real Living Wage for all adult social care workers has come under fire for being almost half the 4% pay rise offered to NHS employees.

Scottish Care has warned the continued pay disparity could lead to an exodus of staff from a sector already struggling with vacancies.

Following an agreement with local councils, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman announced yesterday care workers would receive at least £9.50 an hour from May, working out at just over a 2% increase on the previous rate of £9.30 an hour.

Later the same day, 154,000 NHS Scotland staff including nurses, cleaners and support workers were offered a 4% pay lift by government, with a guarantee that lower salaried staff would receive an increase of at least £1,000 a year.

Just last month an independent review of adult social care in Scotland reported that the social care workforce feels “undervalued and under-recognised…there is a deeper underlying sense that social care workers have not had parity of esteem with their NHS counterparts.”

The disparity has been criticised by Scottish Labour, which said a higher pay boost was needed to reflect the sacrifices of frontline care workers during the pandemic.

The party’s deputy leader and health and social care lead Jackie Baillie claimed care workers had been “offered pennies” in comparison to NHS staff.

She said: “Social care staff – our unsung heroes of the pandemic – have been forgotten. That is why Scottish Labour is committed to delivering a national recovery that values proper pay and respect for the social care workforce, with a wage rise to £15 an hour with an immediate increase to £12 an hour – anything less is an insult.” 

Former Labour MSP and retired GP Dr Richard Simpson described the Real Living Wage announcement as “shockingly low” and that would continue to result in high rates of staff turnover.

“One of my constituents complained of care being given by 30 different carers in one year,” he tweeted.

“Please think for a moment, if you needed personal care how would that make you feel?”

Meanwhile Scottish Care – the body representing independent care providers – welcomed the Real Living Wage commitment but said the move “fails to address long-term issues” and has already led to unintended consequences.

National Director Karen Hedge told healthandcare.scot: “Yesterday a welcome 4% salary increase was announced for NHS staff.

“Such inequity puts a real and tangible risk to the sustainability of our social care sector should staff choose to move to those better paid NHS roles.”

Scottish Care is also concerned that a flat pay uplift means existing pay gaps between workers and more senior colleagues will remain.

In the past increases were negotiated locally at a council level but during the pandemic the Scottish government moved to a national model.

Ms Hedge added: “The challenge of a percentage uplift is that those who were on a lower rate to begin with end up with a smaller payment.

“This would usually be addressed through local rate setting, yet this year we are seeing areas adopting only the 2.2% uplift as standard.

“Whilst the 2.2% should have been a real positive investment in our skilled frontline social care workforce who have been through so much in this last year, instead its blanket application without local diversity risks the move becoming a covert step towards national rate setting for our care at home services.

“Scottish Care is committed to working with the Scottish Government, COSLA, our Trade Union colleagues and others to meet the Fair work recommendations, but we have real concern that the immediacy of the concerns faced by the sector mean that it will be too little too late.”

Yesterday the Health Secretary wrote to the Home Office asking for an urgent meeting to discuss staff shortages facing social care and the impact of the UK’s new immigration system.

While the Scottish government called for all social care roles to be added to the Shortage Occupation List so more foreign workers could come to Scotland to fill vacancies that were exerting ‘acute pressure’ on services, the UK government said devolved administrations should focus on domestic job seekers instead of turning to immigration.

Read more: NHS Scotland staff offered 4% pay rise; Care worker Real Living Wage boost agreed; Analysis: The care for a £15/hr social care wage; Wales to hand out tax free covid bonus

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