#BetterPay4SocialCare

“I’ve worked in social care for a long time and I love my job. Each day is different and I still find new situations that I’ve not experienced before, where I’ve had to think on my feet and adapt, in order to give the person I’m supporting their best quality of life. I believe this has made me an expert in what I do.

When the first lock-down came along, I had to make a decision about how I would care for and protect my children. I am a single parent and my eldest has autism and a few other conditions which leave him with a weaker immune system. Not working wasn’t a financial option. Also, I would lose relationships with the people I support and would have felt I was letting my team down. In the end, for me to be able to continue to work and protect my children, I made the difficult decision to move my kids in with my parents.

I’m highly trained and have a lot of experience behind me. The job I do is intricate, but I don’t get paid enough for the responsibilities I undertake. It’s kind of soul destroying. This is my chosen career because I want to help others, but the wage is not enough and I struggle financially. It’s not fair.” Beth

The pandemic has shown just how much we rely on our nation's 1.52m care workers and the risks they take to fulfil their role to the people they support and to society. But they're not given the rate of pay that they deserve; few front-line care workers get above the national living wage.

Non-profit social care providers are paid by local authorities to deliver vital support to vulnerable people. But the amount social care providers receive isn't enough to pay care workers a minimum of the Real Living Wage. We urge Government to provide additional funding to ensure care workers receive a minimum of the Real Living Wage. The Government is putting together its Build Back Better plan for social care and NHS - social care worker pay simply must be a priority.

Please sign and share this petition today and show Government how much the country is behind our care workers.