Social care vacancy rates remain unsustainably high, despite almost two-thirds of not-for profit organisations reporting spending much more than they had budgeted on recruitment, according to new research.

The most recent Social Care Benchmarking Report carried out by the University of Strathclyde for the HR Not-for-Profit Sector Forum (HRNFPSF) and Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS) shows that 95% of organisations found it either ‘very difficult’ or ‘quite difficult’ to recruit frontline staff in 2022-23.

Just over one-third of respondents (33%) reported an increase in the number of agency workers used in the last 12 months as a result.

The top three reasons given by organisations for their recruitment difficulties were pay levels, too few applicants and local competitors, including retail employers. 

Around two in three organisations (64%) also reported difficulties in recruiting managers, while more than a quarter (27%) said they were finding it hard to fill posts for supervisors and administrative support staff.

The cost of trying to find new employees is also reported to have gone up.

Two-thirds of respondents said they were spending more on recruitment than they had budgeted for, driven by subscription charges for recruitment websites, increased recruitment activity because of the volume of vacancies and the severity of recruitment difficulties, high turnover of staff, and costs of PVG scheme membership for new staff.

Representative organisations say, for the problem to be addressed, the government must take swift action to introduce Fair Work – including introducing pay equity across health and care.

The findings are published in the same week as the Accounts Commission unveiled the “unprecedented pressures” facing Scotland’s community health and social care services, amid funding shortfalls and rising demand for services.

Integration Join Boards, which plan and manage most of these local services, collectively face a funding gap of hundreds of millions of pounds, according to the report.

The Chief Executive of CCPS, Rachel Cackett says both reports show the “immense challenges” faced by providers:

“The evidence is part of a bigger picture of a sector under intense pressure.

“Yesterday’s report from Audit Scotland on the finances and performance of Scotland's Integration Joint Boards highlighted that providers are doing everything they can, with a driven and committed workforce, but that their hands are tied.

“Faced with competition from other sectors who pay more and a government that sets the base wage, they are unable to increase pay to retain staff and ensure consistency for people who need support.

“If providers are to be part of a system that is resilient to the kind of pressures that will be faced through the coming winter, the Scottish government must take action on Fair Work and make its choice absolutely clear in September’s Programme for Government.”

“The First Minister has prioritised reducing delayed hospital discharge. But a limited focus on this will do little to address wider dysfunction in our integrated health and social care system that this survey, Audit Scotland’s report, and evidence from our members, confirms.”

The Strathclyde report follows on from recent research published by CCPS that suggests that overly technical language used in job descriptions, combined with a cumbersome application process, currently puts people off applying for roles in the sector.

CCPS recommends to its members that they outline career progression options within job descriptions and make clear the ways a job in care can lead to long-term personal and professional growth.

The minimum hourly wage of social care workers has, since both surveys were carried out, increased from £10.90 to £12.

However, the survey’s findings suggest this is not enough to attract workers and meet demand but will also cause significant challenges to providers as they attempt to maintain pay differentials across different groups and pay grades of staff.

Kevin Staunton, Chair of the HR Not-For-Profit Sector Forum, says the findings are stark:

“I would like to thank all our members who were able to participate in the survey. Last year I commented that it would be great to see positive progress become a reality after years of warm words about parity of esteem for the sector, the people who employ and the people we support.

“This report shows in stark terms the increasing challenges that organisations face in recruiting new candidates and retaining a good quality workforce in the face of continued threats to the funding of vital services, and in the disparity in pay between the work undertaken by the sector and like for like work / roles being provided by local authority providers and the NHS.

“It highlights key measures to ensure the survival of the not-for-profit sector, meet these aspirations and fulfil the hopes of our dedicated and values-led workforce.

“Our Forum members invite you to read the report and we extend an open invitation to work with others to make our aims a reality.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said:

“Since 2016 the Scottish government has provided funding to support payment of the Real Living Wage to adult social care workers during waking hours and in 2018/19 this was extended to workers providing overnight care support.

“For 2024/25 this policy meant that workers saw their hourly rate increase from £10.90 to a minimum of £12 an hour from April – an increase of over 10%.

“We have invested a record £19.5bn in health and social care in 2024/25. This includes an allocation of over £2bn for social care and integration to deliver on our commitment to increase spending in this area by 25% - two years ahead of target.

“Our funding supports the work delivered by Integration Joint Boards, but budgets and overall funding allocations are agreed by local authorities and health boards, not the Scottish government.

“We understand the recruitment challenges within health and social care and offer funding to advertise vacancies. We remain committed to supporting the delivery of improved, sustainable health and social services across Scotland.”

 

Read more: Why the government must step up for social care; New gallery showcases stories of care; Job listing tweaks could boost care recruitment

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