Figures show more than one third of adult social care workers in the borough are on zero-hour contracts, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

Enfield has the highest number of adult social care job vacancies in London as employers struggle to recruit and retain staff, new figures show.

The borough had 1,600 job vacancies in the adult social care sector during 2021/22, meaning 12.3% of posts were not filled, according to the latest estimates by workforce development charity Skills for Care.

The borough’s vacancy rate is double the previous year’s figure of 6.15% and mirrors the national trend, with a record number of posts standing empty. Skills for Care said the drop in the number of filled posts was due to recruitment and retention difficulties in the sector.

The figures show that more than a third (37%) of the social care workforce in Enfield in the local authority and independent sectors are on zero-hours contracts. Hourly pay for care workers in the borough was estimated at £9.35. Nationally, the median hourly rate for care workers in the independent sector fell by 1.5% in real terms between March 2021 and March 2022.

Enfield Liberal Democrats are calling for a higher minimum wage for care workers to tackle what they call “chronic staff shortages” in the sector. Lib Dem spokespersons Guy Russo (Enfield North), Lauren Fulbright (Southgate) and Tim Martin (Edmonton) said: “The social care crisis is having a devastating impact on vulnerable people’s wellbeing, and contributing to record long waits at A&E and terrible ambulance delays in our area.

“Too many people in Enfield are stranded in hospital beds because there simply aren’t enough care workers to look after them at home or in a care home.

“The first step to fixing this mess is to pay those working in social care more, to prevent the exodus of workers to supermarkets and other better-paid jobs. We have seen firsthand the incredible job that care workers do day in and day out. This is a skilled and crucial job and it should be paid more.”

Alev Cazimoglu, the council’s cabinet member for health and social care, denied people were stuck in hospitals because of the issue and said: “Enfield Council’s adult social care provision is extremely effective and makes a real difference in the lives of our residents.

“Vacancy rates are high because we also have one of the largest care markets with the second-highest number of care homes in London. But we don’t doubt recruitment is a national challenge, which is why we continue to lobby government for adequate funding for social care services.

“But to claim this is resulting in patients not leaving hospitals is false. Enfield Council’s discharge service consistently performs better than the London average – our residents face the least discharge delays in hospital across North London.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We want to recruit and retain social workers with the right skills, knowledge, and values to support vulnerable adults, children, and families.

“Government is investing up to £7.5billion in social care over the next two years – the biggest funding increase in history – which will help address workforce pressures and support a more joined-up and person-focused health and care system.”

An earlier version of this story cited the number of job vacancies in Enfield as 1,219. This was amended to 1,600 to reflect the number of vacancies listed both by individual employers who directly employ their own support staff and those in the local authority and independent sectors.

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