Community Integrated Care is one of Britain’s biggest social care charities, employing 6,000 colleagues and supporting 3,500 people across England and Scotland.

In 2021 we partnered with the world’s leading experts in job evaluation – Korn Ferry – to conduct the first-ever independent assessment of the frontline Support Worker role, assessing its true value across sectors. Our research proved that the role is a skilled, complex and accountable one, equivalent to a Band 3 NHS worker but paid thousands of pounds a year less.

Now three years on, ‘Who Cares Wins’ – Unfair To Care 2024 – presents a juxtaposing message of both crisis and opportunity. With a shocking 36% pay gap – £7,617 a year – remaining between the average care worker and their equivalent role in the NHS, paired with the social care sector facing 152,000 vacancies each day and a 28.3% annual turnover, change must happen.

The report highlights growing public, sector, and political support, making an evidence-based case for investing in fair pay to achieve a new ‘Social Care Triple Win’: delivering better lives for people who deliver and draw on social care, cost-effective and sustainable care and health services and wider economic growth and productivity.

As we enter a pivotal election year, we believe social care will be a determining issue in how the public approach the ballot box. There is a potential 2.6 million strong ‘social care vote’ which could be a critical factor in the outcome of the 2024 General Election.

Our message is clear: Who Cares Wins.