Care home staff

17 February 2022

Dear 

ATISN 16075 – Pay raise for registered care home workers

Thank you for your request to the Welsh Government for information under the Freedom of Information Act (2000) received on 13 February 2022. You requested the following: 

Will the upcoming pay raise for registered care home workers to the real living wage (and subsequent bonus payment due later this year) also be given to those who work in registered care homes but are not legally required to be registered with SCW until October 2022?

Our Response

The Real Living Wage commitment will be provided to registered social care workers in care homes and domiciliary care, in both adults and children’s services, and to Personal Assistants funded through Direct Payments, or where steps to introduce mandatory registration are already underway, as is the case with social care workers in adult care homes. The fact that a worker has not yet registered, but will need to do so within a defined period, would not exclude them from receiving the uplift.

Focussing on these workers recognises our broader ambition to strive for parity of esteem with other key public health services through professionalisation. The inclusion of Personal Assistants paid through Direct Payments reflects that these roles are often similar to that of a domiciliary care worker, and we want to continue to protect the service user’s voice and to control in how the support they need is delivered.

Regarding eligibility criteria for the £1,498 payment, the full scheme guidance is expected to be published soon.

Next Steps

If you are dissatisfied with the Welsh Government’s handling of your request, you can ask for an internal review within 40 working days of the date of this response. Requests for an internal review should be addressed to the Welsh Government’s Freedom of Information Officer at: 

Information Rights Unit, 
Welsh Government,
Cathays Park, 
Cardiff, 
CF10 3NQ 
or Email: Freedom.ofinformation@gov.wales

Please remember to quote the ATISN reference number above. 
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: 

Information Commissioner’s Office, 
Wycliffe House, 
Water Lane, 
Wilmslow, 
Cheshire, 
SK9 5AF

However, please note that the Commissioner will not normally investigate a complaint until it has been through our own internal review process.

Yours sincerely