The government has confirmed a £500 million investment to deliver England’s first Fair Pay Agreement for adult social care workers, aiming to tackle low pay and poor working conditions in a sector long criticised as undervalued. A new statutory body will be established to bring unions and employers together, tasked with negotiating wages and working conditions, as well as improving recruitment and retention. The plans, underpinned by the Employment Rights Bill, will see the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body created in 2026, with the first Fair Pay Agreement expected to take effect in 2028.
The Fair Work Agency will also be introduced to strengthen enforcement, ensuring providers comply with new standards and preventing exploitation. The £500m sits within a wider £4bn boost for adult social care between 2025-26 and 2028-29, though critics argue it will not stretch far enough. Early analysis suggests the sum could equate to only a modest uplift in hourly pay when shared across the sector’s 1.5 million-strong workforce.
Sector leaders have welcomed the move but caution that meaningful reform requires more than headline funding. The Care Provider Alliance and the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group have both stressed the importance of fully resourced negotiations and local authority support to prevent rising costs being passed on to service users.
Think tanks, including the Health Foundation and the King’s Fund, warn that while the Fair Pay Agreement is an important first step, sustained long-term funding is essential. Without it, they argue, any gains in pay risk being offset by higher care fees or cuts to frontline services.
