The Homecare Association’s new calculation for the Minimum Price for Homecare in Scotland is £32.88 per hour.
In the Scottish Budget 2025-26, the Scottish government announced funding of £125 million so that adult social care staff in private and third-sector commissioned services can receive the Real Living Wage (£12.60 per hour) by April 2025. This is an increase from the previous minimum sector pay rate of £12 per hour announced in September 2023 (ultimately, the same as the Real Living Wage in 2023-24).
The Minimum Price for Homecare has gained wide recognition within the health and social care sectors in all four UK administrations.
Our Minimum Price for Scotland is the amount required to ensure careworkers receive the Real Living Wage (excluding any enhancements for weekend or bank holiday working); their travel time; mileage; and various wage-related on-costs. The rate also includes the minimum contribution towards the costs of running a care business to meet quality and other legal requirements.
We do not suggest that the Minimum Price recognises the value of homecare services to society by providing a fair reward for the essential workforce. This would be a ‘fair price’. Instead, we have calculated a ‘minimum price’. Commissioners should not treat this as a national acceptable price capable of achieving a stable workforce.
Staffing costs are the most significant driver of the cost of delivery of homecare, representing at least 70% of the total. Sometimes, they can represent 90% of the total. Increases in wage rates do not just impact on the rate for careworkers’ contact time. They also result in rises to associated cost elements; these include employers’ National Insurance, statutory pension contributions and holiday pay. There is also a knock-on impact on salary differentials and wage rates for roles above the lowest paid.
The Homecare Association continues to challenge central government on the overall funding of social care. It is, however, councils, the NHS, and Health and Social Care Trusts (in Northern Ireland) that determine the prices they pay for services at a local level.
We have also produced the Minimum Price for Homecare for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. These are now available on our website.
If you would like to discuss this report in further detail or for any advice, please email the policy team on [email protected].
Homecare Association Minimum Price for Homecare - Scotland 2025-2026
