‘Abysmal’ pay harming social care recruitment
‘Supermarket or pub wages better’
A CAMPAIGN to recruit more social care workers is being undercut by an inability to boost wages, a councillor has said.
In October, Hampshire County Council launched its Call To Care campaign, in a bid to encourage more people to work in care homes and domiciliary care.
At the time, there were almost 100 temporary and fulltime vacancies on the county council and Connect2Hampshire websites.
A further 22 employee contracts were terminated at the mandatory Covid-19 vaccination deadline last month.
But the county council has remained tight-lipped on how many new starters have come in since the campaign began - as well as the current number of vacancies.
Executive member for public health and social care, Cllr Liz Fairhurst, said: 'Let's say there have been some green shoots and that we'll keep trying.
'We have seen more people coming forward but across the sector there's a major need to recruit more staff. We would welcome applications from anyone.
'It can be a really rewarding job, but the problem is that you can earn more working in a supermarket or behind a bar.
‘Perhaps private sector care homes could provide a cash bonus for new employees, like some other businesses are doing.'
Cllr Fairhurst added that some areas of the care sector are 'faring better' than others.
But opposition Liberal Democrat spokesman for health and social care, Cllr
David Harrison, said the 'abysmal' pay is the main obstacle to recruitment.
'I'm not surprised that they're struggling to recruit,' he said.
'The biggest issue is the level of pay, and every time the sector gets a boost, wages get overlooked.
'The government can invest all it likes into care facilities and training, but if people can earn more money as a self-employed dog walker, it's a no-brainer.
'What's worse is the county council is having to make savings of £80m at the moment, just to balance the books - so I don't think we'll be in any position to increase pay in the near future.'
A spokeswoman from the county council said that the Call To Care campaign had been running for a 'comparatively short period of time' but added that there are several hundred roles available across the social care sector.