The short answer
- A national pay deal for employed care workersA new body of employers and trade unions will negotiate minimum pay and conditions for adult social care workers in England. Once the government ratifies what they agree, it has legal effect.
- The first agreement is due in April 2028The government says negotiations begin in April 2027 and the first agreement takes effect in April 2028, backed by £500 million for 2028 to 2029. The agreement changes nobody's pay before then.
- Self-employed carers are not coveredThe government's response of 16 July 2026 says self-employed workers are outside it, because the Act only covers people employed in social care. That includes carers on PrimeCarers.
- The new pay rates have not been decidedUntil the first agreement is negotiated, the legal floor for an employed care worker aged 21 or over is the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour. Your own rate is set by you, not by either of them.
Dates, funding and scope are taken from gov.uk and legislation.gov.uk, checked 22 September 2026. They are what the government has said, and some have not happened yet.
What it is
A pay agreement for the whole of adult social care in England
Until now there has been no national pay bargaining for most care workers. Pay has been set employer by employer, with the National Living Wage as the floor. The Employment Rights Act 2025 gives the government the power to change that for adult social care, and it has said how it will use it.
The four terms you will see in the news
- Fair Pay Agreement
- A national agreement on minimum pay and terms for adult social care workers in England. The government ratifies it, which gives it legal effect. It cannot lower anybody's existing pay or stop an employer paying more.
- Adult Social Care Negotiating Body
- The body that negotiates the agreement. Section 39 of the Act lets the government create it. It has an independent chair and equal seats for workers and employers.
- The two sides
- The TUC brings together UNISON, GMB, Unite and the Royal College of Nursing for the workers. The Care Provider Alliance leads for the employers. Councils take part but do not vote.
- Fair Work Agency
- The government body that will enforce the pay terms once an agreement is in force.
Each round of talks starts with a letter from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, called a remit letter, which sets out the government's priorities and the most money available to councils to meet the extra cost. The body can negotiate pay and terms and conditions, and it can also look at training, career progression and other benefits. The government has said the negotiations will be held regularly, so the first agreement is meant to be the start of a yearly process rather than a one-off rise.
This is separate from the National Living Wage. The National Living Wage is set by the government every April for every worker in every sector. Both will apply to care workers who are covered, and the agreement cannot reduce anybody's existing pay or terms. What care workers are paid in the UK sets out where employed pay stands today, with the sources.
The same Act also brings in new rights for zero-hours workers, which the struggles of working in care covers. Those are a different change with their own timetable. The rest of the carer resources guides cover tax, checks and rates for carers who work for themselves.
When it starts
The first agreement is due in April 2028, on the government's timetable
The government first announced the Fair Pay Agreement on 30 September 2025. It confirmed the timetable and the £500 million when it published its decisions on 16 July 2026. The top half of this timeline has happened. The rest is what the government says will happen, and it is not law yet.
- 30 Sep 2025
The £500 million is announced
The government announced £500 million for the first Fair Pay Agreement and opened a consultation on how the process should work.
- 16 Jan 2026
The consultation closes
An easy read version for individuals stayed open until 6 March 2026.
- 6 Apr 2026
The powers in the Act come into force
Section 39 of the Employment Rights Act 2025, the power to set up the negotiating body, and section 42, which says who counts as a social care worker.
- 16 Jul 2026
The government publishes its decisions
Its response to the consultation sets out who sits on the body, who is covered and the timetable below.
- End of 2026
The negotiating body is set up
The government says regulations will be laid in 2026 and the body set up by the end of the year. On 22 September 2026 the regulations were not yet on legislation.gov.uk.
- Early 2027
An independent chair is appointed
The chair oversees the talks between the employer and trade union sides.
- Apr 2027
Negotiations begin
The first round covers pay and conditions for the financial year 2028 to 2029.
- Apr 2028
The first agreement takes effect
Backed by £500 million for 2028 to 2029. What it pays has not been negotiated yet.
The £500 million is money to help councils meet the extra cost of the first agreement in 2028 to 2029. It is not a payment to care workers, and it does not tell you what any care worker will be paid. That figure comes out of the negotiations, which have not started.
Who it covers
It covers employed care workers, and self-employed carers are left out
The Act defines a social care worker in England as a person employed wholly or mainly in, or in connection with, social care for people aged 18 or over. The word that matters for a self-employed carer is employed. The government's response spells out what that means.
Who the Fair Pay Agreement in England covers
| Who | Status | What gov.uk says |
|---|---|---|
| Care workers employed by a care home or home care provider in England | Covered | The Act covers people employed wholly or mainly in, or in connection with, social care for adults. The government says it wants broad coverage of these workers. Employment Rights Act 2025, section 42, legislation.gov.uk |
| Self-employed carers, including carers on PrimeCarers | Not covered | The government response says self-employed workers are not within coverage, because they are not covered by the Act’s definition of a social care worker. Fair pay agreement process in adult social care: government response, gov.uk |
| Personal assistants employed by the person they support | Not spelled out | The response makes no exclusion for them and says it will publish guidance on who is covered, but it does not name them either way. Fair pay agreement process in adult social care: government response, gov.uk |
| Care staff already paid on NHS Agenda for Change or the council NJC scales | Not covered | Left out because they already have national pay bargaining. The government says this will be reviewed after three years. Fair pay agreement process in adult social care: government response, gov.uk |
| Unpaid family carers | Not covered | The agreement applies to the paid adult social care workforce only. Fair pay agreement process in adult social care: government response, gov.uk |
| Care workers in Scotland and Wales | Not covered | The body represents England only. The Act gives Scottish and Welsh ministers separate powers to set up their own. Fair pay agreement process in adult social care: government response, gov.uk |
Care workers employed by a care home or home care provider in England
The Act covers people employed wholly or mainly in, or in connection with, social care for adults. The government says it wants broad coverage of these workers.
Employment Rights Act 2025, section 42, legislation.gov.ukSelf-employed carers, including carers on PrimeCarers
The government response says self-employed workers are not within coverage, because they are not covered by the Act’s definition of a social care worker.
Fair pay agreement process in adult social care: government response, gov.ukPersonal assistants employed by the person they support
The response makes no exclusion for them and says it will publish guidance on who is covered, but it does not name them either way.
Fair pay agreement process in adult social care: government response, gov.ukCare staff already paid on NHS Agenda for Change or the council NJC scales
Left out because they already have national pay bargaining. The government says this will be reviewed after three years.
Fair pay agreement process in adult social care: government response, gov.ukUnpaid family carers
The agreement applies to the paid adult social care workforce only.
Fair pay agreement process in adult social care: government response, gov.ukCare workers in Scotland and Wales
The body represents England only. The Act gives Scottish and Welsh ministers separate powers to set up their own.
Fair pay agreement process in adult social care: government response, gov.ukChecked on gov.uk and legislation.gov.uk, 22 September 2026.
The government gave its reason for leaving self-employed carers out. Its response says many people choose self-employment for the flexibility, including setting their own pay and conditions, so it would not be appropriate for the negotiations to include them. It also says it will monitor the effect on self-employed workers once an agreement is in place, and that issues about self-employment will be looked at in a coming consultation on employment status.
Personal assistants are the group with the least clear answer. A personal assistant who is employed by the person they support, often paid through direct payments, fits the Act's wording and the response makes no exclusion for them, but it does not name them. A personal assistant who is self-employed is outside it, like any other self-employed carer. The government says it will publish guidance to help people work out whether they are covered. Working as a personal assistant explains the difference between employed and self-employed PA work.
The response also says the government will keep working to tackle bogus self-employment, where somebody is called self-employed but is treated like an employee. If a care company sets your hours and supervises your work but calls you self-employed, gov.uk's employment status guide explains how to tell which you are, and it points to Acas for advice.
If you are self-employed
What the agreement may mean for a carer who sets their own rate
Nothing in the agreement sets or limits what you charge. What it may change is the employed pay you compare yourself with, and what an agency job would pay if you went back to one. Here is where those figures stand today, beside what reaches a carer on PrimeCarers.
£12.71
The National Living Wage from 1 April 2026
The legal minimum for an employed worker aged 21 or over, until an agreement sets a care worker rate on top.
£12.60
Median care worker pay in the independent sector, December 2025
Before the National Living Wage rose in April 2026.
£16
Reaches you from a £20 hour on PrimeCarers
What carers advertise, with our fee included, less our 20% commission on hourly visits.
Not set
Care worker pay under the agreement from April 2028
To be negotiated from April 2027.
National Living Wage: gov.uk. Median: Skills for Care, Pay in the adult social care sector, published 24 March 2026.
The National Living Wage does not apply to you either. Gov.uk says self-employed people running their own business are not entitled to it. As a self-employed carer you set your rate with each client, and the Fair Pay Agreement will not change that.
What it can change is the comparison. An employed care worker is paid for holiday, can get Statutory Sick Pay and has an employer paying into a pension, and you pay for all of those out of your own rate. If the first agreement raises employed pay, the gap between an agency wage and what reaches you from your rate gets smaller, unless your rate moves too. By how much cannot be worked out until the rates are published. When they are, self-employed or agency? is the guide for putting one week of each side by side, and how much to charge as a self-employed carer shows how to work out a rate that covers what an employer would have paid for. Holiday pay, sick pay and pensions when self-employed covers setting money aside for those.
If you have an employed care job and private clients as well, the agreement applies to the employed job only, if that job is covered. Your self-employed work stays as it is, and both incomes still go on your Self Assessment return, which how to pay tax as a self-employed carer explains.
There is nothing you need to do now. The dates to watch are the regulations setting up the body, the start of negotiations in April 2027 and the published agreement before April 2028. What carers earn on PrimeCarers sets out our commission in full. If you want to set your own rate and choose your clients, you can register as a carer on PrimeCarers, or see the carer jobs open near you first.
Questions
Questions carers ask about the Fair Pay Agreement
No. The government response published on 16 July 2026 says self-employed workers are not covered, because the Employment Rights Act 2025 only covers people employed in social care. Carers on PrimeCarers are self-employed, so it does not set or limit the rate you charge.
The government says the first agreement will take effect in April 2028, after negotiations that begin in April 2027. Until then, the legal minimum for an employed care worker aged 21 or over is the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour, which rises each April.
That has not been decided. The rates will be negotiated between employers and trade unions and then ratified by the government. The £500 million announced is funding for councils for 2028 to 2029, not a pay rate.
It applies to your employed job, if that job is covered, and not to your self-employed work. Your private clients still pay the rate you agree with them, and both incomes go on your Self Assessment return.
The negotiating body the government is setting up represents England only. The Act gives Scottish and Welsh ministers separate powers to set up their own, and these parts of the Act do not extend to Northern Ireland.