HRMWE Research Seminar – Dr Deborah Harrison
Title: Supporting Decent Work in UK Domiciliary Care: A Relational Approach
Date: 29 January 2025
Time: 15:00 – 16:30
Venue: FDC 1.18 and on Teams (passcode: A3V8tb3Q)
If you would like to attend, please register using the following link:
Supporting Decent Work in UK Domiciliary Care: A Relational Approach
Speaker: Dr Deborah Harrison, Newcastle University Business School
Deborah is an Alcan-funded Research Associate focusing on the ‘future of work’.
Deborah’s background is in public sector research, policy and service development. She has worked with a wide range of organisations including local authorities, NHS, social care providers, emergency services, armed forces and the voluntary and community sector (VCS). Before joining Newcastle University, Deborah worked in a variety of academic and third sector positions including Coordinator of the North East Child Poverty Commission (NECPC), Research and Development Lead for the North of England Mental Health Development Unit (NEMHDU) and Service Designer for the national homeless charity Crisis.
Abstract:
The UK social care workforce faces significant challenges including low pay, precarious work, recruitment and retention difficulties, and increasing demand for care. Competitive market pressures have led to fragmented and private sector-dominated delivery, creating downward pressure on wages and conditions. Policymakers focus on progression and skills yet fail to consider other aspects of work quality such as pay, work-life balance and wider working conditions (Crozier & Atkinson, 2024). Academics call for greater focus on social care employment systems, with identified research gaps including employee voice, HR and line management practices (Kessler et al., 2022). This paper examines how local actors are responding to current recruitment and retention challenges in the domiciliary care sector. It draws on findings from an ongoing, qualitative case study analysis in north east England. Six case studies (3 provider and 3 commissioner) explore examples of institutional experimentation including voluntary Living Wage accreditation, not-for-profit employment models and commissioning and procurement innovation. The data draws upon documentary analysis (policy and organisational) and semi-structured interviews (n=28) with frontline care workers, care coordinators, registered managers, directors, commissioners, policymakers and civil society campaigners. The findings are separated into three sections. Firstly, perspectives on factors influencing worker retention and wellbeing are explored, with an emphasis on the critical role of core relationships (employer, client and co-workers). Secondly, local attempts to enhance worker experience are considered. Emerging findings suggest some positive local-level outcomes, particularly where innovation focuses on micro-level job design and/or workplace relationships. Finally, the analysis examines how attempts to support workers are shaped and constrained by wider system factors including payment and contracting structures, shifting role boundaries, changing care requirements and the industrial relations landscape. The discussion argues that wide-ranging economic and market pressures have generated a cycle of contraction in both the employment relationship and the worker-client relationship for domiciliary care workers, despite both acting as critical mediators in retention and wellbeing. Policymakers are urged to take a relational approach to understanding social care workforce issues, including greater focus on how they are shaped by wider system factors. The findings support calls to define social care as an ‘ecosystem’ (Burn & Needham, 2023) and for greater understanding of the crucial role of line managers (Radford & Meissner, 2024), as well as system-level understanding of the interface between health and care workforce systems.