In October 2024, the Government introduced the Employment Rights Bill Parliament. It is a wide-ranging Bill that intends to overhaul employment rights in the UK, with significant changes for businesses, the economy and workers.
The Bill includes measures that will affect all businesses across the economy. These include changes to:
- Zero-Hour Contracts
- Statutory Sick Pay
- Union access to employees
- Changes to fire and rehire practices
One of the measures in the Bill is specific to Adult Social Care and this is what the Government refers to as the Fair Pay Agreement for Adult Social Care. It is a key part of the Government’s policy agenda as outlined in their “new deal for working people” – a programme of work they committed to in their manifesto prior to entering government.
To deliver a Fair Pay Agreement (FPA), the Bill includes a framework for establishing an ‘Adult Social Care Negotiating Body’ (ASCNB). This body is legally responsible for negotiating a Fair Pay Agreement.
CPA engagement with the process to date (August 2025)
We have an important collective voice in this process and have worked collaboratively to understand how practically:
- A FPA can work in practice, reflecting the diversity of our sector
- What the potential ramifications and unintended consequences might be for care providers
- the Government can mitigate any negative impacts of the policy
- To ensure employers have representation on the resulting Adult Social Care Negotiating Body
We have long campaigned for the government to support the sector to improve pay, terms and conditions of care workers and are pleased the Government has focussed on nationally recognising the contribution of the care and support workforce.
We have remained clear in all engagement with Ministers and Government officials that for the implementation of the Fair Pay Agreement to succeed, the Government must fully fund the policy. In any discussions related to the FPA we have relayed in detail providers’ experiences of the significant financial challenges facing the sector, and the commissioning and contracting practices making it difficult to remain financially sustainable.
Read more about our involvement with the development of the FPA in our newest briefing for adult social care providers here.
This Briefing can also be found in our resource library in the Fair Pay Agreement CoP resources folder.
CPA Fair Pay Agreement Community of Practice (CoP)
A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a common interest and come together to learn from each other, share knowledge, and improve their skills through regular interaction.
To support information sharing, sector engagement and peer support and learning, we are hosting topic-based communities of practice, including a Fair Pay Agreement CoP.
You can also register to join our forum and contribute the conversations.
Find out more about our Fair Pay Agreement CoP here.
Our other CoPs are:
