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The English social care workforce: the vexed question of low wages and stress

Hussein, Shereen (2017) The English social care workforce: the vexed question of low wages and stress. In: Christensen, Karen and Pilling, Doria, eds. The Routledge Handbook of Social Care Work Around the World. Taylor & Francis, pp. 74-87. ISBN 978-1-4724-7945-7. (doi:10.4324/9781315612805) (KAR id:68295)

Abstract

Over the past decades the English adult social care system has seen a set of policy reforms

combined with funding cuts and austerity measures. This chapter utilizes secondary and

primary data sources to investigate the current state of the English social care workforce with

a particular focus on the increasing role of migrants; persistent low wages and job related

stress. The findings highlight the continued role of migrants in the sector with a clear shift in

their profile that is consistent with the direction of the UK immigration policies. From 2013

migrants joining the care sector from Bulgaria and Romania alone have exceeded all other

migrants entering the sector. The analysis indicates the persistent low wages in the sector,

which are facilitated by a number of factors including austerity measures and the increasing

role of the private sector and outsourcing of services. The nature of care work combined with

difficult working conditions created various situations where individual workers felt a

considerable level of stress. The latter is likely to impact not only on workers’ ability to

complete their work to the highest quality but also has a potential negative impact on their

own well-being and increases the likelihood of job quitting.

Item Type: Book section
DOI/Identification number: 10.4324/9781315612805
Additional information: Unmapped bibliographic data: M3 - Chapter [Field not mapped to EPrints] U2 - 10.4324/9781315612805 [Field not mapped to EPrints] BT - The Routledge Handbook of Social Care Work Around the World [Field not mapped to EPrints]
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research > Personal Social Services Research Unit
Depositing User: Shereen Hussein
Date Deposited: 13 Nov 2018 11:49 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Dec 2022 06:47 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/68295 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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