There are moments in our national conversation when the words we use risk becoming echoes rather than calls to action. “Fair Work” is in danger of being one such phrase. It appears in countless strategies, reports and political speeches, yet for many who work in social care its promise feels distant, even illusory.
And yet, fair work is not a luxury or an aspiration to be delivered someday. It is the bedrock of the care we offer our fellow citizens. Without fair work, there is no sustainable social care. Without fair work, we cannot hope to attract the skilled, compassionate workforce that older people, those living with disabilities, and their families deserve.
So, the question is not whether we can afford to deliver fair work. The question is: how can we afford not to?
The Scottish Government has made bold commitments to fair work being at the heart of a National Care Service. The Fair Work Convention has spoken clearly of its centrality. And yet, the lived reality of thousands of front line carers and support workers tells a harder story.
Pay levels that remain stubbornly close to minimum wage, even for those with decades of experience. Insecure contracts that leave workers unable to plan their lives. A lack of recognition for skills developed over years of practice. All of this occurs within a sector where the emotional labour is immense, where staff are required to bring not just technical competence but patience, empathy and resilience every single day.
We cannot keep repeating the mantra of “fair work” without reckoning with this dissonance between policy intent and lived experience. The gap is becoming just too great. We need urgently to act.
The urgency is not only economic; it is profoundly human and ethical. We are facing a workforce crisis that cannot be solved by tinkering at the edges. It requires a re-imagining of the way we value social care – not as a cost to be borne reluctantly, but as an investment in the wellbeing of us all. For every one of us will one day need support or will love someone who does.
What, then, needs to happen if fair work is to move from rhetoric to reality?
- We must begin with pay. The work of social care must be rewarded at a level that reflects its skill, responsibility and societal worth. Bench marking against sectors such as the NHS, rather than against the minimum wage, would be a start. A real living wage should be the floor, not the ceiling.
- Fair work is impossible without fair commissioning. For too long, contracts have been let based on cost above all else, driving a race to the bottom where providers struggle to meet the true costs of care. Commissioning must change. It must be relational rather than transactional, valuing continuity, quality and human connection. Contracts must build in the real costs of delivering fair work – not just wages, but pensions, in work benefits, training, supervision and career development. Procurement must become a tool to enable fair work, not undermine it.
- Fair work requires stability. Too many workers live with the anxiety of fluctuating hours and unpredictable shifts. A commitment to secure contracts that offer consistency of income and predictability of work is essential if we are to build a sustainable workforce.
- Social care is a profession. It requires knowledge, skill, and continual learning. Yet too often workers are denied access to training, or their expertise is dismissed. Investment in professional development, clear career pathways and progression, and parity of esteem with health colleagues are essential.
- Fair work also means having a voice. Workers must be involved in decisions that affect their practice. Co-design of services should include those at the front line, who understand better than anyone the challenges and opportunities of delivering care. We need to start trusting the social care front line with autonomy and the ability to discern and prioritise.
- We must also confront inequality within the workforce. Most social care workers are women, and many come from minority ethnic communities. Addressing structural inequalities of gender, race and migration status is not separate from the fair work agenda; it is central to it.
- Finally, we need courage from government and commissioners. Fair work will not be achieved by exhortation alone. It requires funding, political will, and the bravery to challenge short-termism in favour of long-term sustainability.
There is, of course, no easy path forward. But neither is there time for delay. Fair work in social care is not a problem for tomorrow; it is the challenge of today and should be a central priority for the upcoming election. If we fail to act, we will see the workforce crisis deepen, the quality of care decline, and our collective wellbeing diminish.
Fair work is not an optional extra. It is the price of a society that cares. And the time to pay that price is now.