U-turn on Real Living Wage

U-Turn on Real Living Wage Leaves Independent Sector Care Staff Facing Fresh Uncertainty

The announcement by Health Minister Mike Nesbitt that independent sector social care staff will not yet receive the Real Living Wage (RLW) has sparked widespread disappointment and concern across the sector, with leaders warning of deepening financial insecurity for thousands of workers.

The Minister confirmed that while £209 million has been directed toward pay uplifts for staff covered by the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body and the NHS Pay Review Body, this funding does not extend to care workers employed in the independent sector. These workers make up the majority of Northern Ireland’s social care workforce.

Minister: RLW Remains a Priority, but Not Yet Funded

In a statement, Minister Nesbitt said he remains “fully committed to resolving all our pay issues going forward and to funding the RLW at the earliest affordable opportunity.” He added that RLW funding would be a key priority during planning for the 2026/27 financial year, and that any future uplift would be “ring fenced, allocated transparently and with clear timing.”

Acknowledging the frustration caused, the Minister said he hopes positive relationships across the sector can be maintained and emphasised his recognition of the “dedicated social care professionals who play such a vital role in our health and social care system.”

A Trail of Commitments – and Growing Frustration

The sense of disappointment is intensified by a series of public commitments made in recent years:

• In February, the Minister told the Health Committee that RLW funding had been identified.
• In July, the Health and Social Care NI Reset Plan pledged £25m to support RLW implementation, building on a previous £70m investment.
• In 2022, senior officials said new domiciliary care contracts would be based on RLW.
• A Fair Work Forum and a business case were established to address low pay in social care.

According to the IHCP, these repeated assurances created hope that pay inequality would finally be addressed. The decision to allocate none of the £209m uplift to independent sector workers has therefore been described as “indefensible.”

What Happens Now

While the Department of Health has reiterated the Minister’s commitment to delivering RLW when financially possible, no immediate solution has been announced. ARC NI has thus sent a letter to Minister Nesbitt expressing our serious concerns, calling for funding to be reinstated and asking for transparency on the Department’s next steps. In the spirit of transparency and collaboration you can see a copy of this letter below:

As the sector awaits clarity on future funding, the repeated delays and reversed commitments risk widening existing inequalities and destabilising a workforce that underpins the entire health and social care system. For thousands of carers — many of them women, single parents, and low-income households — the continued uncertainty only deepens financial insecurity at a time when their work has never been more vital.