SOCIAL care pay is “unlawfully” low for many workers with the staffing crisis having a negative impact on workload and safety, a damning study into the sector found today.

A study of social care workers by the Resolution Foundation revealed that the median hourly pay was £10.90 in April 2022 – well below the economy-wide average of £14.47 and less than rates offered in other low-paid jobs in the public sector.

Domiciliary workers, who care for patients in their homes, face a high risk of being paid less than the minimum wage once their travel time is considered, the foundation found.

A typical domiciliary care worker earning £11.07 per hour and spending the average amount of time travelling between clients — which is equivalent to 12 minutes for each contact hour — would have an effective hourly rate of £9.20.

This is 30p an hour below the adult minimum wage.

The report called for a sectoral minimum rate of pay £2 above the minimum wage to “materially reduce” underpayment and help with the recruitment and retention crisis.

In 2021/22, 11.6 per cent of front-line care jobs in England were vacant — up from 4.7 per cent in 2012/13.

The report said that domiciliary workers should be paid for their travel time.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said that the report “lays bare the terrible working conditions and poverty pay” many social care staff experience.

“Social care workers put their lives at risk during the pandemic and are at the sharp end of the current winter pressures,” he said.

“They deserve to be treated with dignity at work – not like disposable labour.

“Unless we urgently improve pay and conditions in social care vacancy rates will continue to skyrocket.

“And hospitals will continue to struggle to discharge patients.”

The TUC is calling for a sector-wide £15-an-hour minimum wage.

Unison head of social care Gavin Edwards said: “Until care wages rise, the sector will be forever in a state of crisis.

“In these tough times, many staff are reluctantly leaving care for jobs paying significantly more.

“Radical action is required from the very top of government. There can be no more broken promises.

“Otherwise, the care sector will never be in a fit enough state to help the under-pressure NHS back on its feet.”