Executives from the UK’s leading social care providers recently gathered for an event hosted by Care England and Wagestream.
The event marked an important step towards tackling key inclusion challenges in social care – particularly financial inclusion.
The event saw the launch of a new report, Inclusion at the Crossroads, which highlights the financial inclusion challenges faced by social care staff – particularly women and ethnic minorities – who are more likely to grapple with two key predictors of financial exclusion: lower pay and variable income.
The report recommends that providers:
- Meet the standards for living hours as provided by the Living Wage Foundation.
- Provide support for employees to access state assistance they are entitled to.
- Implement a payroll savings program, ideally on an opt-out basis, to help employees build savings by default.
- Review workplace policies and benefits through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and prioritise providing financial security benefits that are useful and accessible for the whole workforce.
Care England CEO Professor Martin Green OBE said: “For a sector as diverse as social care, inclusion is crucial. This groundbreaking report has highlighted financial exclusion as a challenge for every provider to be aware of. While solving this is not solely an employer’s responsibility, there are clear steps providers can take to support. The commitment made today by some of the biggest players in the sector represents a strong commitment to fostering greater inclusion among this critical workforce.”
