S Marginalisation and pay differentials in the UK social care sector Dr Shereen Hussein King’s College London
Jan 04, 2016
S
Marginalisation and pay differentials in the UK social
care sector
Dr Shereen HusseinKing’s College London
What is social care?
Social care supports people of all ages
With needs arising from physical, cognitive or disabilities
Assist in carrying out personal care or domestic routines (activities of daily living).
Helps sustain paid or unpaid work, education, learning, leisure and other social support systems.
Supports people in building social relationships and participating fully in society.
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Why is social care so important?
Complex interactions of political, economical, sociological and demographic factors Role of state, society and individuals In the forefront of political debates
reforms, big society, mutuals, personalisation etc. Value of emotional work Duties and responsibilities In the heart of demographic forces Strong business case!
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Formal and informal spheres of care
Sociology of care
Norms and traditions
Individual, society and government responsibilities
Working with other forms of support (social security, health and housing)
Complement, intersect but do not substitute one another
Interaction with health care
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Marginalisation of the social care as a labour
market sector
Dealing with a special kind of ‘commodity’
Value of ‘care’ work to the society
Gendered; emotional; for granted !
Responsibilities and duties of care The role of the welfare state (means tested)
Assumed or planned
Pricing ‘emotional’ work
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The position of the care sector and labour
dynamics
Changing structure; place; nature, interaction with health services Domiciliary, residential Individual budgets
Links to government funds
Interactions with other markets
Role of the private and voluntary sector
Secondary labour position Migrants and BME workers
contribution
Pay and working conditions Possible other rewards
Flexibility Satisfaction Stepping stone Only job!
Temporarily or continuous
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Characteristics of the care sector
Means tested, state-funded, less than 12% of users
Private sector major supplier of services (75% of services)
Different types of settings- with domiciliary care workers accounting for 48% of the workforce
Increase policy emphasis on personalisation and user choice
Wages are a major cost component
Growing demand- high vacancy and turnover rates- almost a recession proof sector
No signs of funding reforms!
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Workforce structure
Gender (80% women), age (mid 40s) and education (minimum skills required)
Migrants and immigration policies International and local supply
Grey economy and domestic work
Lack/unclarity of career path
Marginalisation within a marginalised sector
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Marginalisation in pay
One of the main low paying sectors (LPC) Before and after the introduction of the NMW
Two tier pay levels; with direct care and ‘other’ workers paid on, below or just above the NMW ‘Top’ tier includes professional workers (SW, OT ect.) and managers
Pay rates are significantly lower in the private sector and in domiciliary care settings
Ethnic pay-gaps also exist BME workers paid lower than white workers after accounting for other
factors
More people leave care work due to low pay from the private than statutory sector
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Sector effect: hourly pay rate statistics for different job groups working in different sectors, SCWP 6
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Setting effect: hourly pay rate statistics for different job groups working in different settings, SCWP 6
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Investigating pay differentials in the sector
Using mixed-effect models Controlling for measured and
unobserved factors and cluster effects at different levels of hierarchy
Separate models for different job role groups Managers/supervisors Ancillary Direct care Professional
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Direct care workers pay differentials
Significant and large in magnitude effect of individual providers (55% of variance)
Sector variations are large and significant
Large regional effects
Significant fixed effects: Type of care setting/service type Ethnicity Interactions between age and setting Interactions between gender and setting Interactions between sector and setting
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Descriptive: Variations in hourly pay of adult direct care workers by some selected individual and employer-level characteristics, SCWP 7
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Results of final mixed-effect model of hourly pay of adult direct care workers, SCWP 7
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But ..Available data don’t
represent accurate figures
Data provided by employers (NMDS-SC) One figure for hourly rate (no indication of ‘enhanced’ rates etc.)
Sector is not very well defined (LFS)
Over represent higher wages and more stable workforce (ASHE)
Unrecorded ‘working’ time Travel between clients Extra work On call – sleep in duties etc.
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Attempt to improve estimates of those paid
under NMW
Combining different data sources
Adjusting for unpaid travel time
Adopt a methodology that maximises the benefit of prior knowledge
Focus only on direct care workers (majority of the workforce)
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Recent estimates and analysis
Approach Sector specific data (provided by employers; NMDS-SC)
adjusted by other sources (provided by workers; LoCS survey) Accounting for previously published estimated by the LPC and
small surveys (Bayesian approach)
Assumptions Very small adjustments (average of 22.7 minutes of unpaid
work and 4.8 min of travel time per week)
Findings From (9.2% to 12.9%) or 156,673 to 219,241 ‘direct care’
workers in the UK are paid under the NMW
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Pay distribution of direct care workers
Source: Hussein (2011); SCWP Issue 16
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Risks- what to be aware of
Pay distributions are borderline with NMW in most cases Any unpaid time likely to cause hourly pay rates to move under the NMW Any changes in the NMW rates will have a large impact
Larger numbers of workers are likely to be affected if we include ‘other’ workers- 14% of the total workforce we include unreported work; especially through direct
payment/personalisation schemes
Main risk areas for underpaying includes travel time/cost and night shifts
Innovative ways to cut costs: reducing number of staff in shifts; increasing duties of lower paid ranks
(care workers to give injections instead of nurses); shorter shifts (forcing some to work extra unpaid time); ‘real time’ shifts by the minutes etc.
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Migrant workers
Continue to constitute a considerable part of the workforce Majority non-EEA migrants (usually with nursing qualifications) Large regional variations Concentrated in certain jobs No large variations in pay levels
Linked to immigration status- minimum wage> NMW Usually given ‘harder’ shifts which may pay more, e.g. night/weekend
Discrimination
Immigration policies: Differences between EU and non-EU migrants
Attachment to employer Qualifications Choice and mobility Language
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Experience of racism
Many experience racism and or discrimination
Then I noticed some of my colleagues started to, you know, I don’t know kind of my colleagues then so I think I noticed that, you know, people really sometimes they bully especially if you’re a different colour (Site 06, Migrant worker, Asian man 607).
Most are fine, but some clients can be rude and swear at you they can use racist comments: colour plays a big part. The excuse is often their mental health (Site 01, Migrant worker, black African woman 137).
Differential experiences of different ethnic groups Visible social markers Being ‘foreign’
The ‘time’ factorSource: Stevens, Hussein and Manthorpe (2012)
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Top nationalities of migrant workers
Source: Hussein (2011); SCWP Issue 11
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2727/06/2012 [email protected]
Trends of number of migrant workers (in the care sector) entering the social care sector from 1995-2010 by nationality groups
Source: Hussein (2011); SCWP 12
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[email protected]/06/2012
Another Advantage of many migrants
“...are less likely to quibble and
will accept worse conditions
than established citizens;
getting on with the job and not
complaining too much.”
(Refugee organisation director)
Source: Hussein, Stevens and Manthorpe 2010
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Next steps
Examine the profile of those likely to be paid under the NMW Using sector specific data complemented by other national
data
Sector differences
Type of settings
Providers/employers characteristics associated with very low pay
Investigate pay and conditions among workers employed directly by users (personal budgets)
Partnership/collaborative approach Policy, research and practical knowledge Understand, educate, regulate and penalise
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References
Hussein, S., Manthorpe. J. and Stevens, M. (2011) The Experiences of Migrant Social Work and Social Care Practitioners in the UK: Findings from an Online Survey. European Journal of Social Work, 14(4): 479-496.
Hussein, S. (2011) ‘Estimating probabilities and numbers of direct care workers paid under the National Minimum Wage in the UK: A Bayesian approach. Social Care Workforce Periodical, Issue 16: December 2011’.
Hussein S. (2011) The contributions of migrants to the English care sector. Social Care Workforce Periodical, Issue 11- February 2011.
Hussein S. (2011) Migrant workers in long term care: evidence from England on trends, pay and profile. Social Care Workforce Periodical, Issue 12- March 2011.
Hussein S., Stevens M. and Manthorpe J. (2010) International Social Care Workers in England: Profile, Motivations, experiences and Future Expectations, February 2010. Final Report.
Stevens, M., Hussein, S. & Manthorpe, J., (2012), 'Experiences of racism and discrimination among migrant care workers in England: findings from a mixed-methods research project', Ethnicity and Racial Studies. 35(2): 259-280.27/06/2012