Residential care workers and their families are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty as the average UK worker The Health Foundation report, ‘Poverty, pay and the case for change in social care’ has found.

Residential care workers and their families are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty as the average UK worker. They are also more likely to experience food insecurity, use a food bank, go without basic items and services and rely on Universal Credit. This has not improved compared to before the pandemic. There are also concerning inequalities affecting migrant workers in social care. More than 1 in 3 residential care workers born outside the UK lived in poverty, compared with 1 in 10 born in the UK.

The case for workforce reform in social care is strong. Poor pay, terms and conditions contribute to chronic staffing gaps, impacting people’s care. They also affect the lives of people working in care and their families.

The Foundation’s analysis provides an up-to-date picture of poverty and deprivation among the residential care workforce in the UK. It does so to help inform the government’s approach to social care workforce policy and tackling poverty. 

Read and download the full report on The Health Foundation’s website here.