Scots social care workers are paid around £6000 less than their peers in equivalent positions in other public-funded sectors.
A new report commissioned for social care charity Community Integrated Care highlighted the inequalities between care home workers and other similar roles.
They found jobs with equivalent scope, complexity and accountability within other public funded sectors are, on average, paid at £24,602. The average Scots care worker salary is £18,575.
The gap is even greater in the sector’s NHS counterpart where average take-home pay for equivalent jobs is £25,142.
With the social care sector losing more than 34 per cent of its employees every year and currently having 112,000 vacancies across the UK, the research brings into stark focus the roots of a workforce crisis.
The report, Unfair To Care, provides evidence that frontline carers receive an unjust deal and breaks the stereotype that social care is a “low skilled” sector.
And the analysis backs calls for a Scottish National Care Service to be introduced as a matter of urgency by the Scottish Government.
The role of social care workers has changed beyond recognition in the past decade, as the sector increasingly supports people with highly complex health and care needs.
The analysis also demonstrates that support workers frequently have the same or a greater level of skill and accountability as jobs such as healthcare assistants, police community support officers and senior teaching assistants.
Mark Adams, CEO of Community Integrated Care, said: “Our research proves that in other related sectors, many frontline support workers would be getting paid at least £6027 more per year, and more than £6500 within the NHS.
"This is immoral, illogical, and cannot be justified.”
