Falkirk care charity calls for fair pay ahead of the Scottish Parliament election
Community Integrated Care – a national social care charity with services based in Falkirk has today – is calling for fair pay for the social care sector.
This year’s report, Unfair To Care 2026: “Signs of Change” comes as Scotland approaches the May 2026 Scottish Government election, which, according to the charity, presents a pivotal moment for all political parties to commit to improving support for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.
This includes investing in a robust social care workforce that enables independence, safety and quality of life for tens of thousands of people who draw on social care, across Scotland.
The report highlights data from the National Care Forum’s national pay benchmarking exercise of the sector, which reveals an existing unfair pay gap of 15 per cent between social care support workers in Scotland and NHS Scotland Band 3 employees on baseline pay rates – a stark difference of £3822 per year.
Community Integrated Care warns that, without urgent intervention, the sector will struggle to attract and retain skilled professionals, limiting Scotland’s ability to deliver truly person‑centred care and undermining efforts to tackle health inequalities.
Sara Murphy, managing director for Scotland at Community Integrated Care, said: “The report makes one thing abundantly clear – Scotland cannot continue to deliver the inclusive, compassionate and high‑quality support people deserve without a social care workforce that is valued and fairly paid.
"Every day, our colleagues provide skilled, life‑changing support in communities across Scotland, yet they continue to face a persistent and unacceptable pay gap. As we approach the 2026 Scottish Government election, we have a vital opportunity to change this.
"We’re calling on all political parties to recognise the true value of social care and commit to long‑term investment, pay parity with equivalent NHS Scotland roles, and a clear, sustainable career pathway for our workforce.”
The upcoming May 2026 Scottish Government election is described by the charity as a “crucial opportunity” for every political party to make a clear, ambitious commitment to fair pay and a transparent career structure for social care support workers, investment that reflects the true cost of delivering safe, high‑quality support, workforce development, including better training and pathways for progression and sustained reform that addresses long‑standing parity between social care and the NHS.