Draft pay and progression framework for social care in Wales

About the framework

As part of our work to support opportunities for progression, we’re a member of the  Social Care Fair Work Forum, a social partnership group committed to embedding fair work and improving terms and conditions for people working within the social care sector.

The forum has launched a new draft pay and progression framework for the social care workforce in Wales. The framework outlines five job bands for roles that support adults or children and young people, and explains the skills, values, knowledge, understanding, and typical tasks for each one. The framework doesn’t currently include expected pay scales, but it proposes a starting pay point, and full pay scales will follow. 
 

The framework has been developed to meet the ambitions of Wales’s fair
work commitment and the workforce strategy for health and social care.
It aims to:

• provide a simplified framework for employers and employees
• improve recruitment and retention in social care
• provide a clear progression route for anyone thinking of joining, or already in, the sector
• support workforce development through continued improvement of skills and knowledge
• describe and standardise positive behaviours of social care workers
• provide a fair and transparent process for decisions about collective and individual salaries (at this stage in individual organisations).

Trade unions

As a social care worker, you have the right to belong to a trade union. Trade unions help workers protect their rights and improve their working conditions. You can find out more about joining a union on the Trade Union Congress (TUC) website. 

If you work in a nursing role in social care, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK, representing around 35,000 members in Wales. It promotes the interests of nursing staff and patients, influences health and social care policy, and supports excellence in care. 

Across social care settings in Wales, the RCN supports registered nurses, health care support workers, students and those working in integrated health and social care roles. Visit the RCN website to find out more about joining.