Suchergebnisse

This chapter provides detailed analysis of working conditions, wages and the role of gender and migrants in the social care sector in England. It is based on empirical studies on the English social care workforce spanning 2010 to 2015. England has seen a continued trend of austerity measures adopted by the then Coalition Government since 2010 and continued by the Conservative Government in 2015. Austerity measures combined with progressive policies towards personalization and pro-European immigration policies have shaped a new structure of care service delivery where marketization has stimulated the demand for low cost caring labour. This has created a precarious working environment with regressive employment conditions affecting more than a million of care workers. The analysis starts by providing an overview of the characteristics of the social care workforce highlighting the significance of gender and migration in the recruitment and retention to the care sector. It then provides detailed analysis of working conditions and wages demonstrating how care workers are denied their legal right of a national minimum wage. The analysis then offers details on bridges required to cross the gap to achieve the legal minimum national minimum wage and then to achieve the aspired-to living wage. Wider implications related to working conditions including workload, contractual agreements and training are examined in relation to the increased demand on this workforce to have greater knowledge and deliver more. With women and migrant workers being the backbone of this workforce there are implications for the wellbeing of workers as well as the quality of care provision. The potential impact of these structural changes on workers' stress and life work balance are examined using findings from targeted surveys and qualitative interviews.

The objective of this report is to analyse key issues concerning the social services workforce in Europe, with a focus on social workers and social care workers. It is based on secondary literature and policy analysis, the results of a questionnaire, and discussion groups that took place during a seminar organised by ESN in Bratislava in November 2016. The report rst sets the scene by describing key similarities and differences between the social services workforce and structures of welfare states in Europe. Second, the report covers key developments in policy and practice regarding quali cations and skills, recruitment and retention, workforce mobility across the European Union, and planning and management of the workforce. Finally, the report sets out key recommendations for policy-makers, practitioners and researchers. The structure and legislative framework of the welfare states in European countries shape the size, composition and regulation of the social services workforce. Whilst the Bologna process has harmonised social work academic quali cations to an extent, social care professions are still very much country-speci c with regulation and required quali cations being formalised in some countries but not in others. This has implications for the quality of the services provided as well as the attractiveness and conditions of the jobs available in this area. Preparing professionals with the knowledge and practical skills required to do their job well is a complex endeavour that is organised very differently in European countries. This complexity is illustrated by an overview of quali cations and regulation of social work and social care professionals in selected European countries. The link between institutions responsible for education and training and organisations that deliver services is crucial, particularly regarding the need to align education and training with changes in practice, such as the increasing importance of technological innovation. An important way to bridge potential gaps between theory and practice is the effective involvement of service users in the planning, delivery and evaluation of education and training.

Escalating demands for formal long term care (LTC) result in the reliance on migrant workers in many developed countries. Within Europe this is currently framed by progressive European immigration policies favouring inter-European mobility. Using the UK and Norway as case studies, this article has two main aims: 1) to document changes in the contribution of EU migrants to the LTC sectors in Western Europe, and 2) to gain further understanding of migrants' decision processes relating to destination and work choices. The UK and Norway provide examples of two European countries with different immigration histories, welfare regimes, labour market characteristics and cultural values, offering a rich comparison platform. The analysis utilises national workforce datasets and data obtained from migrants working in the LTC sector in the UK and Norway (n=248) and other stakeholders (n=136). The analysis establishes a significant increase in the contribution of EU migrants (particularly from Eastern Europe) to the LTC sector in both the UK and Norway despite their different welfare regimes. The findings also highlight how migrant care workers develop rational decision-processes influenced by subjective perspectives of investments and returns within a context of wider structural migration barriers. The latter includes welfare and social care policies framing the conditions for migrants' individual actions.