Social Care Fair Work Forum: annual progress update 2025

The Social Care Fair Work Forum (“the forum”) was established in September 2020. The forum was designed to bring government, employers, and trade unions together to work in social partnership and consider how different elements of fair work should be implemented and embedded within the social care sector in Wales.

The forum and the supporting task and finish groups continue to progress the main elements of its work programmes to help improve terms and conditions in the sector, including the development of the social care workforce partnership which has matured and agreed its priority work areas for its first 12 months. A key area of focus for the forum initially was the implementation of the Real Living Wage (RLW) for social care workers. This has now moved into its fourth year, and the forum has been monitoring recent developments at UK Government level that could provide a firmer basis for the RLW in social care.

Since the forum’s last update in 2024, the UK Government published their Employments Right Bill in October of that year. The bill included plans to develop fair pay agreements within adult social care in England only initially, through the development of a social care negotiating body, with the aim of providing a legislative basis for implementing fair pay within social care. Since then, Welsh Government have worked closely with UK Government to ensure this clause within the bill is extended to Wales and has continued to report updates and proposals to the forum. Amendments to the bill have been laid, including some that are specific to Wales such as the inclusion of children’s social care workers. The bill continues to go through the Parliamentary process, however, importantly, the legislative consent memorandum in relation to the provisions for Wales was debated by the Senedd on 15 July 2025 and was passed. The forum is closely monitoring developments and will be involved in discussions and proposals to take forward a negotiating body in Wales.

This progress report provides an update on the work priorities of the forum, highlights its emerging focus areas, and demonstrates the work it is doing to support the implementation of fair work principles in the social care sector.

Parity on terms and conditions through social partnership

Prompted by task and finish work conducted by the forum, a "social care workforce partnership" was established in 2024 and formally announced by the Minister for Children and Social Care on 15 January 2025. The partnership constitutes a forum for voluntary collective negotiations and aims to incorporate many fair work elements currently being progressed by the forum. As set out in the memorandum of understanding, trade unions, social care employers, local government and Welsh Government have formed a partnership to develop a set of models of best practice for employment in the independent social care sector. The aim is to support providers in adopting these policies and to bring greater consistency to terms and conditions across social care in Wales.

Following engagement with the sector, the partnership has identified its top 3 priorities to focus on in the first year:

• recognition agreements (alongside trade union access)
• disciplinary and grievance
• health and safety, including violence in the workplace

To develop these priorities, 3 task and finish groups have been established, each led by different members of the partnership. 

Good practice HR policies are essential to creating a supportive and efficient environment in social care that benefits employees, employers and service users and the partnership is hoping to achieve a consistent approach to this across the sector. The partnership will actively encourage social care employers to voluntarily adopt these models by highlighting the benefits they will offer in providing clear and consistent approaches across the social care sector.

A fair pay and progression framework for the whole sector

Following a consultation on a draft pay and progression framework for the social care sector, which received broadly positive feedback, the forum established a working group to finalise the first iteration of the framework by early 2026.

Social Care Wales is leading the project, drawing on expertise from the Welsh Government, trade union representatives, the Welsh Local Government Association, as well as employer and provider representatives, and care providers directly.

So far, the working group has conducted a series of information gathering sessions covering:

• learning from other sectors
• current pay rates
• tasks and competencies of social care workers
• roles of non-registered staff
• job evaluation
• lessons from other regions
• social care nurses

The group has thoroughly reviewed the consultation responses and will now work to strengthen the draft framework based on feedback received and recent learning. This includes defining the scope and roles to be included and commissioning research on pay data and job evaluations to consider appropriate pay levels.

Fair reward

Tackling low pay in the commissioned independent sector

Following detailed advice and recommendations from the forum, Welsh Government has provided funding within the Local Government Settlement since 2022 to support the implementation of the RLW for social care workers. The funding is incorporated into the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) and is intended to be passed on to providers to bridge the gap between the national minimum wage and the RLW.

The national framework for the commissioning of care and support in Wales came in to effect on 1 September 2024 and, as well as setting out 7 guiding principles for sustainable social care built on fair work and fair pricing, the national framework aims to support the forum’s RLW commitment with guidance relating to the implementation of the RLW including fair work principles. The forum welcomes the new national framework and the code which requires commissioners to support employers to improve the status, wellbeing and working conditions of health and social care workers with the aim of parity of esteem and terms and conditions across (statutory, private and third) sectors. It also specifies that this requirement should be measured within procurement and contract monitoring processes, and that commissioners should ensure that providers are paying at least the RLW. The forum is working with those leading on the national commissioning framework to strengthen it, ensuring commissioners prioritise fair pay and treatment of the workforce – recognising this as essential to delivering high quality, sustainable care.

Care commissioners and providers play a key role in ensuring that funding reaches its intended recipients. We are aware of reports which indicate that not all social care workers are receiving the RLW. The RLW is key to demonstrating the value provided in social care work and an important factor in sustaining a reliable workforce. We are working with local authorities to understand their intentions and challenges with the implementation of the RLW through the allocated funding provided within the RSG. The forum commissioned an independent evaluation on the implementation of the RLW which is due to be published shortly. We will consider the observations and recommendations within this report as well as local authority feedback to consider next steps for 2026 to 2027.

Sick pay

The forum continues to have concerns regarding sick pay for social care workers and continues to call for better provision of sick pay across the sector. Inequity of sick pay provision across the social care sector has a negative impact on the sustainability of our social care workforce and thus also presents a serious risk for those in our communities receiving and relying on care.

The forum supports the Employment Rights Bill which proposes to make statutory sick pay (SSP) more accessible for those who need it most. The bill aims to ensure that SSP is available from day one of sickness and removes the lower earnings threshold. These developments are welcomed by the forum, but improvements are still needed to address the very clear inequalities between the many social care employees within the independent sector and those directly employed by local authorities and the NHS.

The experience of personal assistants (PAs) in the social care sector

Following research commissioned by the Social Care Fair Work Forum to better understand the challenges faced by this section of the workforce, a Welsh Government-led PA stakeholder group was established in 2024 to take forward recommendations relating to:

• pay
• terms and conditions
• training and development
• promoting trade unions
• support and information available for PAs

This group includes representatives from local government, trade unions, Social Care Wales and employer representatives for PAs and aims to share good practice, ensuring that PAs are considered across all social care policy developments.

The group has been working closely with the recently established all Wales PA working group, which includes representatives from each local authority across Wales aiming to drive forward better terms and conditions for PAs and bring consistency across the local authorities. 

The aim is to ensure inclusion of PAs in the development of the voluntary pay and progression framework as part of the wider workforce. In addition, the stakeholder group commissioned a survey undertaken by Social Care Wales to assess PA training available across local authorities, aiming to share best practice and consider a national approach.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

The equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) task and finish group was established to consider how the forum can best consider EDI issues as an integral element of fair work characteristics. The EDI group works with partners to influence change on EDI actions related to the workforce, adding value whilst considering and sharing the important work being undertaken elsewhere in the sector. This year we have extended the membership to the Equality and Human Rights Commission who have joined the group.

Members will consider the voice and experience of those with protected characteristics working in the social care sector in various elements of the work programme and be there to support from an EDI perspective on any future reports or action plans. The group convenes to discuss progress and updates on items such as the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan (ArWAP), the LGBTQ+ Action Plan and disabilities. This year, members have agreed to become the sub-group for the Workforce element of the ArWAP which will involve identifying gaps regarding reporting of discrimination and employee rights in relation to EDI.

Menopause support

More people than ever are continuing to work through their menopause and beyond. Following an analysis of the responses to the survey commissioned by the forum and undertaken by Social Care Wales, ongoing engagement with the sector has been tailored, with specific webinars being held to highlight changes to the Employment Rights Bill and its links to menopause. The webinars will explore what level of support organisations will need to provide to meet requirements. They will also share good practice examples of effective menopause policies that support improved physical and mental health and wellbeing for those experiencing the effects of menopause.

Commissioning research and engagement work on the provision of micro-care services

Following the publication of a report in January 2024 commissioned by the forum, Welsh Government has held further engagement with stakeholders in respect of micro-care to find out more about how services are operating in Wales and if there have been any changes, their position within the care sector and how local authorities are interacting with them. This work will inform future policy in this area to support greater assurance and consistency in this sector across Wales.

Highlighting contract security and flexibility

The forum has been working to better understand the impact of non-guaranteed hours or 'zero-hour' contracts on social care workers. Drawing on recent research into their use in Wales, we are preparing to publish a report outlining our findings.

We’ve also been engaging with the UK Government on the draft Employment Rights Bill. Forum members are pleased to see that the bill acknowledges both the benefits of flexible working for employers and employees, while also recognising the challenges zero-hour contracts can pose, particularly around financial stability and personal planning.

The bill proposes new rights for workers, including the right to guaranteed hours that reflect their regular working patterns over a reference period, and reasonable notice of shifts. Workers will still have the option to remain on zero-hour contracts if they prefer. Additionally, if shifts are scheduled with insufficient notice, workers will have the right to bring a claim to an employment tribunal.

A focus on employee rights, voice and representation

The forum has established a worker voice task and finish group to raise awareness amongst staff and employers in the independent sector of the benefits of trade union membership. The group also aims to support employers in facilitating access to unions and works to amplify worker voices in policy and improvement efforts, ensuring diverse and inclusive representation.

This group contributes directly to one of the social care workforce partnership’s priorities, developing recognition agreements with trade unions, with the Chair of the recognition agreement group also being a member of the worker voice group. Members aim to communicate and promote the benefits of trade union recognition for employers as well as employees.

Additionally, SCW have agreed that this group have a role and influence in the 2026 social care workforce survey to maximise participation, including offering alternatives to online participation where trust in digital methods can be low.

The group will continue to make recommendations to the forum for consideration to support the Welsh Government policy which is committed to promoting workers’ access to trade unions across Wales.

International recruitment

The forum has concerns regarding the recent changes announced by UK Government in relation to overseas workers as part of the Immigration White Paper, restoring control over the immigration system. The changes will remove the ability for overseas workers to apply for social care worker and social care manager roles in the UK.

The forum has called for Welsh Government to consider urgently a support mechanism for overseas workers who are living in Wales, particularly those who are displaced due to employer licence revocations and therefore have limited time to source new employment.

Earlier this year, several forum members attended an international social care workforce in Wales roundtable event, with the Chief Social Care Officer for Wales. The event brought together stakeholders from across the country who are actively supporting overseas workers. A key outcome was the shared commitment to strengthen collaboration and develop a clear support framework for overseas workers in Wales, including better mechanisms to identify and address mistreatment and exploitation, and provide direct support for overseas workers in Wales.

Welsh Government are working at pace to respond to the emerging issues and continue to report to the forum to update and discuss proposals for taking this work forward.

The Social Care Fair Work Forum was established in September 2020 following recommendation of the Fair Work Wales Commission and is independently chaired by Professor Rachel Ashworth, Professor of Public Services Management at Cardiff Business School.

The forum is a social partnership group consisting of employers, employees, stakeholders and government on an equal basis. The members are:

• Association of Directors of Social Services Cymru
• Care Forum Wales
• GMB
• National Provider Forum
• Royal College of Nursing
• Social Care Wales
• Wales Trades Union Congress
• Unison
• Welsh Government
• Welsh Local Government Association

The remit of the forum is focussed on paid social care workers in the public, private and third sectors. It has initially focused primarily on social care workers in the independent sector in the first instance, but its considerations will also extend into the public sector. The forum will not impinge upon those professions with existing collective bargaining agreements in place, such as social workers, occupational therapists and registered nurses.

More information about the forum can be found on the Welsh Government website.