Last Updated on July 20, 2026

A newly-established body is set to represent care workers in England during upcoming negotiations on pay and working conditions. The new Adult Social Care Negotiating Body will be set up by the end of the year, bringing together trade unions and employers to negotiate on behalf of the sector to deliver the first ever fair pay agreement for adult social care.

Through the body, care providers and workers will have voting rights on important issues including pay, terms and conditions, and wider employment matters through a regular negotiation process. The body will also have an independent Chair to oversee the negotiations between employer and worker representatives, who will be appointed in early 2027.

The first ever adult social care fair pay agreement will aim to reform decades of low pay and insecurity for the 1.5 million people working in the sector. It is backed by £500m for the first agreement in 2028 to 2029, boosting domestic recruitment and retention of carers while growing the economy, raising living standards and creating opportunities for all.

The first round of negotiations will commence in April 2027, and the first settlement will be introduced by April 2028. Alongside the fair pay agreement, Government continues to build on the first ever universal career structure in adult social care and professionalise the workforce, by introducing part three of the care workforce pathway, including 10 new role categories such as care technologists and activity co-ordinators.

The pathway sets out clear roles, responsibilities and development opportunities, showing people how they can move into more specialist or leadership positions. It also now includes all adult social care roles - even those that are not health or social work, such as catering or maintenance positions. The changes are part of Government’s mission to create a national care service and follows over £4.6bn of additional funding that has been made available for adult social care in 2028 to 2029.

Commenting on the announcement, Minister of State for Care, Stephen Kinnock said, 'Our 1.5 million compassionate, dedicated and hard-working carers deliver a vital service - making people's lives better, giving them dignity, joy and independence. For too long this workforce - equal in size to our NHS - has been overlooked and forgotten, with care workers exploited by low pay and poor working conditions.

'This Government is turning a page. We are giving care workers a voice and a fair deal, we are giving them better rights, proper training and opportunities for progression - and bolstering the workforce while making caring a more attractive career.'

Oonagh Smyth, Chief Executive Officer of Skills for Care, said, 'The 1.5 million adult social care workers deserve rewards that support recruitment and career progression. The fair pay agreement is a crucial step toward improving care roles and securing skilled staffing.

'To succeed, this process must be backed by reliable data to support the UK's 19,000 care providers. Aligning the fair pay agreement with the newly expanded care workforce pathway roles will directly link fair pay to career development. Together, they make adult social care a rewarding, structured profession.'

Paul Nowak, General Secretary of Trades Union Congress (TUC), said, 'For too long care workers have been undervalued and underpaid for their vital work. Social care has become synonymous with low pay and insecure work. That's why the fair pay agreement is so important. It will help lift the floor of pay and conditions in the sector and put it on a more stable footing for the future - ensuring better care for all our loved ones.

'In years ahead, continued and increased funding will be essential to ensure the urgent workforce challenges in social care can be meaningfully addressed. The TUC stands ready to support negotiations to ensure the fair pay agreement is a success, and delivers for care workers and the sector as a whole.'

Gavin Edwards, Head of Social Care at UNISON, said, 'The Government's moving in the right direction towards a fair pay agreement. Significant extra funding will still be needed to meet the urgent workforce challenges in social care. Care staff do skilled work which deserves pay and conditions that match other public services. National collective bargaining is essential in delivering this reform. 

'An enforcement body is also vital in a sector with an appalling record on workplace wellbeing and practices. Union representation for staff is another major step forward in adult social care, which has long been anti-union.'

Melanie Weatherley MBE, Co-Chair of the Care Association Alliance (CAA), said, 'The Care Association Alliance welcomes the creation of the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body and the first fair pay agreement for care workers. For too long, the people who provide hands-on care to some of the most vulnerable in our society have not been paid or recognised in line with the skill and responsibility the job demands.

'A national framework for negotiating pay and conditions, alongside the expansion of the care workforce pathway, is a step toward the professionalisation of the sector that our members have been calling for. We now need to secure the funding to match the ambition, so that providers can deliver on this agreement sustainably. We look forward to working with Government on the detail as it is implemented.'

Keep up to date with the latest from the Department of Health and Social Care here.

In other news, a new CAA report sets out a new national funding model for adult social care.