'Have Your Say' workforce survey 2025: Full report and summary of responses

Demographics

We found that:

• as in 2024, the most common age group was between 55 and 59 years old
• 77 per cent were female, and 21 per cent male, also mirroring the 2024 findings
• 89 per cent were straight/heterosexual, two per cent gay or lesbian, and two per cent bisexual
• 73 per cent were White, 16 per cent were Black, and six per cent were Asian
• 24 per cent said they had a long-term condition which lasted 12 months or more. Of those who had a long-term condition, 61 per cent said it affected their day-to-day functioning
• 32 per cent suggested they were a carer outside of work
• 11 per cent said they were neurodivergent
• 40 per cent said they could speak at least some Welsh
• 32 per cent of respondents were adult care home workers, 23 per cent were domiciliary care workers, and nine per cent were other care workers 
• the service areas in which respondents worked included: older people (48 per cent); dementia (42 per cent); learning disability (40 per cent); mental health (36 per cent); physical disability (32 per cent); and carer support (20 per cent) 
• 47 per cent had worked in social care for nine years or more
• 84 percent worked for one employer and received a salary. Of those, 67 per cent worked full time, and 17 per cent worked part time. 11 per cent worked for one employer on flexible hours
• 35 per cent said they were members of a trade union, with most a member of UNISON (23 per cent) or GMB (six per cent).

Recruitment and retention

We found that: 

• as in previous years, most social care workers (50 per cent) started working in social care because they wanted a job that would make a difference to people’s lives. The next most commonly selected reasons for working in social care were because respondents felt they’d enjoy it (12 per cent), thought it would suit their skills (11 per cent), or owing to personal experience of caring for someone (9 per cent). Respondents could choose more than one reason 
• 49 per cent found out about working in social care through friends and family working in the sector, 27 per cent through a job advertised online, and 11 per cent through recruitment fairs or companies 
• 20 per cent were aiming to leave the sector, in an average of 14 months. This represents a small improvement since 2024, when 25 per cent were intending to leave in an average of 13 months. 

Leadership, training and development

We found that:

• 43 per cent wanted a leadership role in the future, which was slightly lower than in 2024 (47 per cent) and significantly higher than in 2023 (36 per cent)
• 58 per cent believed it was possible for them to become a leader, a similar finding to 2024 (60 per cent) and 2023 (50 per cent)
• 27 per cent had sought a progression opportunity in the past year, which was significantly lower than in 2024 (37 per cent)
• 86 per cent said they had sufficient training to do their jobs well, and 83 per cent said that they had enough training to fulfil CPD requirements. These findings are similar to those in 2024 (87 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively) and show improvements since 2023 (79 per cent and 77 per cent, respectively)
• 47 per cent said they need more training to progress their career, remaining consistent with both 2024 and 2023
• 66 per cent said they had no issues in accessing work-related training, which was similar to 2024. 

Bullying, discrimination and harassment

Here we present the percentage of social care workers who said they'd experienced bullying, harassment or discrimination from different sources in the past 12 months. The percentages of respondents who reported bullying, discrimination and harassment from each source are similar to those in 2024. 

• From managers: Bullying (eight per cent), discrimination (seven per cent), harassment (four per cent). Of those who said they’d experienced any of these from a manager, 45 per cent said that this was reported by themselves or a colleague, and 24 per cent of those who reported it felt it was dealt with adequately.
• From colleagues: Bullying (seven per cent), discrimination (five per cent), harassment (four per cent). Of those who said they’d experienced any of these from a colleague, 55 per cent said that this was reported by themselves or a colleague, and 37 per cent of those who reported it felt it was dealt with adequately.
• From people they support or their families: Bullying (four per cent), discrimination (four per cent), harassment (six per cent). Of those who said they’d experienced any of these from people they support or their families, 73 per cent said that this was reported by themselves or a colleague, and 46 per cent of those who reported it felt it was dealt with adequately.

We also found that 69 per cent felt their employer acted fairly in decisions about career progression and promotion, in relation to protected characteristics. This is down slightly from 70 per cent in 2024. 

Pay, terms and conditions

We found that: 

• 69 per cent were happy with their terms and conditions, up from 68 per cent in 2024 
• 12 per cent were employed on a zero-hours contract, which is similar to 2024. Of those who were on a zero-hours contract, 64 per cent suggested they’d prefer to be on a fixed or regular hours contract 
• 29 per cent suggested they were ‘just about getting by’ financially. 46 per cent were ‘living comfortably’ or ‘doing alright’, up from 42 per cent in 2024 and 29 per cent in 2023. 22 per cent were finding it ‘quite’ or ‘very’ difficult to get by, down from 23 per cent in 2024 and 33 per cent in 2023 
• 48 per cent said they were finding it either ‘a lot’ or ‘slightly’ more difficult to manage financially compared to last year. This is down from 59 per cent in 2024 and 82 per cent in 2023. 13 per cent were finding it either ‘slightly’ or ‘much’ easier, up from 11 per cent in 2024 and three per cent in 2023 
• 42 per cent were dissatisfied with their pay, which is down from 46 per cent in 2024 and 57 per cent in 2023. 38 per cent were satisfied, this is up from 35 per cent in 2024 and 26 per cent in 2023. 

Health and well-being

We assessed the well-being of the workforce using the ONS4. These are four measures used by the Office for National Statistics to capture different types of personal well-being on a scale of 0 to 10. We compared the average response from this survey with the UK average for each measure. We also compared the average response from this survey with the averages found in 2024.  Each of the findings below is higher than the UK average  and the averages found in 2024: 

• Satisfaction with life: 7.78 (UK average: 7.45, 2024 average 6.54)
• Life is worthwhile: 8.25 (UK average: 7.73, 2024 average 7.11)
• Happiness yesterday: 7.75 (UK average: 7.39, 2024 average 6.58)
• Anxiety: 5.30 (UK average: 3.23, 2024 average 4.35) 

We also asked other questions about well-being. We found that: 

• 83 per cent said their morale was good, up from 77 per cent in 2024 and 65 per cent in 2023
• 54 per cent said they struggled to switch off when they leave work, down from 57 per cent in 2024 and 63 per cent in 2023
• 44 per cent suggested they had enough support to deal with stress, up from 41 per cent in 2024 and 31 per cent in 2023
• the main causes of stress reported were workload (35 per cent), paperwork or administrative load (27 per cent), and worrying about things outside of work (24 per cent). These were also the four leading causes of stress in 2024, with similar proportions of respondents reporting in each category 
• 46 per cent suggested they'd attended work at least twice in the past year despite being so ill they should have stayed at home, down from 52 per cent in 2024. 

Working conditions

We found that: 

• 73 per cent said they felt helped and supported by their manager, up from 70 per cent in 2024 and 66 per cent in 2023 
• 81 per cent said they felt helped and supported by their colleagues up from 79 per cent in 2024 and 78 per cent in 2023 
• 66 per cent suggested they had the right staff to deliver services, up from 57 per cent in 2024 and 54 per cent in 2023 
• 78 per cent felt able to meet the needs of the people they care for and support, up from 75 per cent in 2024 and 70 per cent in 2023 
• 62 per cent felt safe in their role, down from 66 per cent in 2024 
• 59 per cent felt they had enough time to do their job well, up from 55 per cent in 2024 and 49 per cent in 2023. 

We also asked how much people felt valued by different groups they interact with. We found that: 

• 68 per cent felt valued by their manager, down from 70 per cent in 2024 and up from 61 per cent in 2023 
• 78 per cent felt valued by their colleagues, down from 80 per cent in 2024 and up from 71 per cent in 2023 
• 81 per cent felt valued by the people they support, up from 80 per cent in 2024 and 76 per cent in 2023 
• 56 per cent felt valued by partner agencies, down from 57 per cent in 2024 and up from 48 per cent in 2023 
• 50 per cent felt valued by the general public, consistent with 51 per cent in 2024 and up from 44 per cent in 2023.