Hampshire care worker recruitment campaign 'undercut by low wages'

A CAMPAIGN by Hampshire County Council to recruit more social care workers is being undercut by an inability to boost wages, a New Forest councillor has warned.

In October, HCC launched its Call To Care campaign in a bid to encourage more people to work in care homes and domiciliary care, writes David George of the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

At the time, there were almost 100 temporary and full-time 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 HCC has remained tight-lipped on how many new starters have come in since the campaign began, as well as the current number of vacancies.

Cllr Liz Fairhurst, cabinet member for public health and social care, 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 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.

Opposing Liberal Democrat spokesperson 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 for HCC said 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.