Children’s social care workers: minimum pay

The current minimum rate of pay for children’s social care workers delivering direct care in Scotland is £12 per hour.  This came into effect from April 2024, and is in line with pay rates for adult social care workers.

If you are eligible, your pay should be backdated and provided for all hours worked from April 2024.

If your pay has not increased, there is information below on what you should do.

Who is eligible

If you are providing direct care to vulnerable children in a private, independent or voluntary sector service commissioned by a local authority or integration authority, you should be getting paid at least £12 per hour.

 To be eligible you must be a registered worker in a Category 2 or 3 role, in the following commissioned services:

• secure accommodation
• care home services for children and young people
• school care accommodation: residential special schools
• housing support
• care at home
• services classed as other than care at home

Or you must be an unregistered Personal Assistant directly employed by Self Directed Support (SDS) Option 1 recipients, to provide care at home to under 18-year-olds with assessed needs.

This uplift applies to the social care workforce in commissioned services in the third and independent (private) sectors and applies where employers have agreed to deliver this uplift with the relevant local authority.

If you are not getting paid the minimum amount

Speak to your employer

If you think that you qualify for the higher minimum rate, and your pay has not increased, the first thing you should do is speak to your employer.

Speak to your trade union

You may also want to contact your trade union if you are represented by one. If you are not, you can get more information from unions that represent social care workers, such as:

• GMB Scotland
• UNISON
• Unite

If you cannot resolve the issue with your employer

If you are not able to resolve the issue with your employer, and you think that you are eligible for this uplift, you can contact your local authority commissioning team who will look into this for you. Please note, they will only be able to do this if there is a contractual relationship between your employer and the local authority or Health and Social Care Partnership. 

Contacting your local authority commissioning team

When contacting your local authority commissioning team, you should title your email 'Children’s Social Care Pay Uplift Enquiry' and include:

• the name of your employer and the specific setting if appropriate
• your job role within direct children’s social care
• the type of service you work in i.e. care home, care at home, delivering direct support through SDS Option 1
• your current rate of pay
• any information your employer has given as to why you are not receiving £12 per hour

Scottish Government role

National and local government have a long-standing commitment to the principles of Fair Work for the social care sector. We are fully committed to improving the experience of the social care workforce, including increasing levels of pay, as we recognise and value the work that they do.

We provide funding to local authorities to ensure that both children and adult social care workers delivering direct care are paid a minimum rate of pay. Local authorities commission these services through providers. They also provide funding for Personal Assistant employers through Self Directed Support.

We do not have a direct relationship with employers, so any issues relating to implementation of the policy by an employer must be raised directly with your local authority or Health and Social Care Partnership.

We expect that any provider that has committed to pay the higher hourly rate should pass this on to the workforce. For Personal Assistant employers, all funding provided to deliver this uplift should be spent on increasing Personal Assistants’ pay.

We cannot get involved in any disputes between workers and employers.  It is also not appropriate for us to determine the management of local contractual relationships.