Workforce shortages in the adult social care sector are “likely to be exacerbated” by government immigration reforms, experts have warned.
Earlier this week the Home Office outlined plans to abolish social care work visas for new applicants from overseas. Care workers will be allowed to extend their visas until 2028 and in-country switching will be allowed for people already here.
However, the tougher restrictions are expected to undo progress the sector has made on tackling staff shortages.
Professor Carol Atkinson, from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), said: “The reforms are likely to reverse the progress made on increasing recruitment into and reducing vacancies in the sector. Since the H&SC skilled worker visa was introduced, vacancies have fallen in the sector, with some providers relying heavily on them. Removing this route is likely to exacerbate workforce shortages – potentially reducing the volume/quality of care that can be delivered.”
Alison Bennett, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for care and carers, said: “The Conservatives failed to bring forward their promised plans to get social care working and as a result left care providers with no choice other than to rely on overseas workers.
“Change is urgently needed to fix the mess the Conservatives made. The new government has failed to bring forward a credible plan that makes it easier to recruit British workers to fill these vacancies.
“If the government doesn’t introduce a higher carer’s minimum wage to tackle this and get on with reforming social care this year, both their plans for social care and immigration will fall apart.
“Our country deserves a comprehensive plan to fix social care – not half-baked proposals that only address one part of the problem.”
Atkinson said international recruitment has also helped to make the sector more diverse, with a greater racial-ethnic mix and more male care workers. If the international route ends this progress could stall too.
The professor said that while there have been abuses of the visa system, and there are a number of international care workers already working in England who could be redeployed, “the scale of this is unlikely to address vacancies in the sector to any large extent”.
It is difficult for employers in the sector to undertake strategic workforce planning in the context of an ever-changing visa system, she said. “Stability around this is needed for the sector to move forward in effectively building workforce capacity.”
One reason it is hard to recruit into the adult social care sector is that the pay is low. It stands at, or just above, the national living wage.
However, often this does not reflect the level of responsibility or skills required of employees, according to a study conducted by MMU, the University of Manchester and the University of Surrey, and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The study, ‘Pay in Adult Social Care: how much does it vary and why does it matter?’, revealed a lack of parity around pay and other terms and conditions with workers in local government and the healthcare sector.
In addition, there is little variation in pay within the sector. This limits the incentive for workers to upskill to progress to more senior roles, researchers said.
Career pathways are important, but employees also need pay progression to encourage people into the sector, said Atkinson, who was a lead researcher for the study.
Asked what impact the new immigration reforms could have on pay in the sector, Atkinson said: “In care that is commissioned by local authorities for independent sector delivery, pay is constrained by fees received. Although removing workforce supply will push up demand, systemic pressures mean that this is unlikely to result in higher wages. It is more likely that vacancy rates will increase.”
She said that as the Employment Rights Bill is establishing the Fair Pay Agreement, it will be important that this change establishes a rate of pay that will be effective in increasing recruitment into the sector.
