Fortune Favours The Brave
A regular podcast for business leaders exploring how businesses can harness risks and use them to their advantage. In each episode Howden Insurance Brokers will discuss a topical challenge or issue and what business leaders can do to overcome it.
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Fortune Favours The Brave
The challenges facing care workers and the importance of staff wellbeing
What happens when those who care for others need help themselves? Understand how care providers can ensure they prioritise staff wellbeing and what the risk and insurance impacts are when these initiatives are not put in place.
Hosted by Richard Lawson, Senior Account Executive at Howden Health & Care, our latest care sector podcast dives into the critical yet often overlooked world of care workers. With the expertise of Karolina Gerlich, CEO of the Care Workers’ Charity and Sabrina Meetaroo, Associate Director, Head of Risk & Claims Advocacy, Howden Health & Care.
We discuss the essential work that The Care Workers’ Charity does to support the social care workforce and the key findings from their Wellbeing Report published earlier this year. The conversation then moves to workforce wellbeing and the connection this has on business and operational risk.
Finally, we provide a summary of the future developments within the care sector and what providers need to continue to do to help their workers meet the complex challenges that they face.
Welcome to Howden's podcast Fortune Favors the Brave. We all take risks in our everyday life, and business is no different. In this podcast, we're speaking to the experts about a topical challenge or issue and what business leaders can do to overcome it.
Speaker 2:Hello and welcome to this episode of Fortune Favors the Brave. My name is Richard Lawson. I'm one of the senior execs here at Howden Health and Care and in this episode we'll be discussing the Care Workers Charity. I'm joined by my guests. First of all, sabrina, how are you?
Speaker 3:Hi, richard, I'm well, thank you.
Speaker 2:And I'd also like to introduce Carolina from the Care Workers, charity. Thank you for joining us, carolina. How are you today?
Speaker 4:I'm fine, richard, thank you.
Speaker 2:And if I could ask Carolina, first of all, just to give us a short introduction to yourself and what you do and what the Care Workers, charity, does.
Speaker 4:So the Care Workers Charity is a charity for care workers who work in social care, in paid roles, just to be clear, not family carers. We've been around since 2009. We support care workers in three different roles. First of all, through our crisis grants, which is emergency support. If a care worker's got a broken car, they need an MOT, they've got a broken washing machine, they've had unexpected long-term sickness and they're only on SSP, they can apply to us for financial support, and there are non-repayable grants on average around £500.
Speaker 4:Then we support care workers with their mental health in two different ways. First of all, we have our counselling sessions that care workers can self-refer to, that are delivered by a third party, and then we also pay for mental health first aidist training that care workers can participate in so then they can support their colleagues in the settings that they work in. And lastly, but in a way most importantly, we have our advocacy and campaigning work. We now also have, as part of it, a group of care workers on our advisory board care worker champions, a group of 30 care workers that help us deciding what's important, what isn't, for the workforce. And we champion care workers as skilled workforce that needs registration, that needs a professional body that needs better pay, working conditions and recognition from the society.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you ever so much for introducing yourself and the Care Workers Charity. It is a tradition here on the podcast that we ask our guest what the last time you did something brave was Now that can be within work or personal life and how it paid off.
Speaker 4:In terms of last time I did something brave. I feel like in the world made for men, being a woman is brave enough every day, so I just put it out there. But I think one of the bravest things I've ever done is what comes to mind, and it was actually taking on this job, because I was a care worker before beforehand a voluntary CEO of an association for care workers whilst being a care worker. But I've never worked for a charity, let alone run a charity, so taking on this job over five years ago was definitely, in my books, rather brave.
Speaker 2:Well, it sounds like you've really put yourself out there at times, and I mean with the care workers. Charity itself what's the structure of the charity? You know? How did it start? Where's it going? What do you see its future as?
Speaker 4:I think at the core of everything that we do where we are, where we want to go, is making sure that care workers are supported, they have a place to go, and that we try to improve the world that we live in to make sure that care workers actually get what they deserve for the important work that they do. Ideally, if I could choose, we would get care workers to the place where they don't need the care workers charity to support with their finances or anything else. But unfortunately, as we know, in terms of social care, there is a lot to be done to support the workforce.
Speaker 2:And I mean, could you? I know it's very difficult to summarise, but is there a way of summarising the key challenges facing care workers at the moment?
Speaker 4:Yes. Key challenges facing care workers. Last month, in May 2025, we published our report on well-being with care workers. Of care workers, in which over 2,000 care workers participated, submitted to our online survey, and the biggest challenges are not really surprising. But it is being able to pay their bills and live month to month. Most of them find that the pay isn't enough.
Speaker 4:A lot of care workers do unpaid additional hours at work. Over 20% of care workers have to use food banks, a third of care workers say that their job is contributing negatively to their mental health, that their job is contributing negatively to their mental health, and over 70%, in one way or another, are looking at leaving the sector. From the care workers that we surveyed, so I think we have issues of people not feeling recognised for their work, either through pay or being looked after in terms of their mental health, or through recognition, all of which then translates into very poor retention that we've got in the sector or being looked after in terms of their mental health, or through recognition, all of which then translates into very poor retention that we've got in the sector, and people not necessarily saying that they want to be here still in five years' time.
Speaker 2:I mean Sabrina, given the challenges that Carolina's sort of mapped out there. What is the impact on, do you see, from the business and insurance perspective and around risk management, and and how that might affect the liability that is faced by a business if their workers are feeling underpaid, under appreciated?
Speaker 3:yeah. So the challenges care workers are facing, as Carolina explained burnout, financial pressure, retention issues they don't exist in isolation. They have a direct impact on the operational and risk landscape of care providers, which in turn feeds into how insurers assess price risk. So when teams are stretched thin or they feel unsupported, the likelihood of incidents be that medication errors, safeguarding concerns, manual handling issues it increases. So each incident adds to providers' claims history, which can then significantly push up premiums and in some cases it can make insurance cover so much harder to place altogether. And the backdrop to all of this is very much shifting.
Speaker 3:We're seeing major policy changes in 2024 and early 2025. So the increase in the national minimum wage has hit care providers hard, especially those reliant on tight local authority rates. So the change to employer and national insurance contributions also adds to those pressures, such as payroll. They aren't just financial concerns. They're affecting staffing levels, wellbeing, support and, ultimately, the quality of care. So adding to this is the evolving scrutiny from regulators. So the Care Quality Commission is now placing greater emphasis on workforce culture, continuity of care and leadership, especially through the new single assessment framework.
Speaker 3:If a provider's workforce is suffering, it's so much harder to maintain that good or outstanding rating, which again becomes a commercial risk. So from insurers perspectives, we're seeing a greater demand for that evidence that a provider is not only aware of these risks but actively managing them. That means implementing staff well-being frameworks, conducting regular incident reviews, offering mental health support and really investing in training and those care workers. Some insurers are even rewarding providers who can demonstrate these proactive measures with better terms. So to mitigate these risks, care providers need to embed workforce well-being into their operational risk strategies. So it's not just compliance, but it's a strategic priority. This includes making use of tools such as employers assistant programs, peer mentoring, open door leadership policies. Those sorts of things are really important. The organisations that thrive ultimately in this new climate are those that can demonstrate a genuine embedded culture of care not just for the residents but also very much for their staff.
Speaker 2:And I mean Carolina, with everything that yourself and Sabrina has sort of brought up that's going on and the challenges faced. Is there any specific examples of something that you might be proud of that the Care Workers Charity has helped either a provider or a staff member, you know, and their teams through supported them through something.
Speaker 4:Yes, there are multiple examples. We've given away over £.3 million pounds in the last five years in grants and another support to over 13,000 care workers. One of the things that we do is employee-owned funds. So when a care provider can set up a hardship fund just for their employees, but we manage it for them and there are various benefits for that. Mainly, it's that care workers don't really want to go and ask their own employer for help. People feel embarrassed, people don't feel like they can necessarily speak up. So we're having it set up in a way that we manage it and they can apply online in a form and we don't let their employer know the name, what they've applied for and what kind of help they needed. It really helps.
Speaker 4:So we've set that up in the past and we have some currently going on as well with a few care providers, and they've been extremely successful. So that's in terms of supporting bigger teams of care workers. In terms of individual support, we've had a lot of people give us incredibly good feedback on our mental health support. Obviously, we know that on the NHS right now, to access any kind of counselling is weeks, if not months, of waiting for even general assessment, let alone actually accessing counselling or any other support itself. With us, people are able to apply and get on a session with the counsellor within a few days, depending on the care workers, availability most of all, and then they can arrange those appointments in the time that's flexible and is good for them, rather than that by being directed by the service.
Speaker 2:Wonderful, Sabrina. Obviously you have some experience of the operations within a care provider, Given not only the challenges for the care workers but also the care businesses and the financial restraints, what's your experience in translating all these wonderful ideas of how to support and how to bring forward the support for the worker and actually the process and getting it done?
Speaker 3:So, in my experience, translating the broad guidance into meaningful on-the-ground support for care workers is very much a common challenge across the sector. What works best is when wellbeing and support structures are embedded into the daily operations of a service and they're not just treated as standalone sort of one-off initiatives. One of the most effective approaches care providers can take is to develop structured wellbeing frameworks that are owned at a local level. This might include wellbeing check-ins during team meetings, for example, access to trained mental health first aiders and a flexible rota which plans and considers staff input to basically prevent burnout. Guidance is most impactful when it's consistent and reinforced through policy and culture. So, for example, policies on whistleblowing, stress management or hardship funds.
Speaker 3:Access needs to be more than just the documents. It needs to be actively promoted, made accessible and regularly discussed so that staff really understand how they can access them. The recent changes in the external environment also means that providers need to stay really agile. So the 2024 uplift in the national minimum wage has been positive for workers, but it also has been difficult for many providers to absorb, especially without the equivalent increase in funding from commissioning bodies. So financial pressures like this affect not just pay but the ability to maintain adequate staffing levels and, ultimately, morale.
Speaker 3:So, in response to your question, some providers are also exploring ways to support staff beyond pay, as Carolina discussed. So offering access to financial well-being resources, food support schemes or subsidized transport, wellbeing resources, food support schemes or subsidised transport. Additionally, with the recent tightening of the overseas workers, there needs to be clear HR guidance as well and emotional support for international staff, because they're undoubtedly feeling uncertain and vulnerable right now. So translating that guidance into practice just ultimately means ensuring that staff understand it, that the well-being is strategic and operational. It's about integrating that support into everyday processes. So pretty much from induction through to supervision and then even you know when people move on through exit interviews. And that's the way to maintain the culture where staff really can feel heard, valued and supported and when it's done well, it doesn't just feel like an employee benefit, it really improves quality of care, retention and, ultimately, regulatory outcomes as well.
Speaker 4:I think culture is the number one important factor. I think care workers often tell us that the reason they leave services is because they felt like they were just tools to deliver care and they were expected to care about the person they support, or people they supported holistically but nobody actually cared about them. So we need to have a culture where, first of all, we understand and apply the fact that care workers have their own human rights and they have the needs and they have the dreams and they have the hobbies and they have a life outside of work. They don't just exist to be care workers. And, secondly, we need to think about the fact that if care workers are well, they will deliver great care, and we can't ask them to to do that if we're not looking after them.
Speaker 4:And I've sat in various meetings with care providers over the years and I have to say, those that have great retention numbers, those that say, oh, I'm not struggling with recruitment that much, which is often a surprise in the room are the people that think about oh, in my care home, if people work a whole shift, I will give them a hot meal.
Speaker 4:It's like a no-brainer, or I have to. If I'm building a new care home, I have to make sure I have a staff room that actually has a microwave, a fridge and I should probably put some food and snacks in there and some water or in home care. There are people that will call a care worker to check on them, not just to ask how is Mrs Smith doing? So? It's that and I've had only, I have to say, a few care providers over the years say to me, and quite recently as well the way I approach it now is if I look after my workforce, then I don't have to worry about people we support, because if I look after them, they look after them. So, people actually focusing on the care workers rather than on the residents or clients or however, whatever time people use, because some have actually realized this is the key point and without that I can't assure great quality of care well, as you say, without staff there is no care provided.
Speaker 2:So I mean, can you go further as to what you would like to see businesses do to support further the carers and therefore improve the care that's then provided?
Speaker 4:In April 2025, we published our guidance on co-production with care workers. So, I mentioned earlier, we now have a advisory board of care workers and care worker champions and with that group of care workers, we came up with a document we co-produced it with them. That teaches any stakeholder in the sector any policy maker, but care providers as well, how to work with care workers to ensure better quality of care, ensure better working conditions, ensure better interview practices. And the rule is just talk to care workers. Anything you do in your service, care workers should be included, and by including them, by listening to them, you will then get feedback that you would have never had otherwise. That can improve their lives, but it can also improve lives of people you support. That can improve your business, potentially save you so much money as well, so everybody wins. But where it has to start is talking to care workers. And then, aside from that, there are, you know, the obvious things that we talk about over the years, but they're not necessarily applied everywhere. Pay as much as you can, yeah, put your staff over the years, but they're not necessarily applied everywhere. Pay as much as you can. Put your staff over your profit, because your staff is your profit.
Speaker 4:At the end of the day, make sure that people take breaks, and I think that it's not often recognized that the care worker won't necessarily take a break and sometimes they have to be prompted and sometimes they're put in a situation where they feel they can't. I once worked in living care and I didn't have a break for nine months. So, but these things happen. I just couldn't, I just felt I couldn't leave the person I was supporting. She was going through a big transition in her life, in her health, and she wanted me there and I felt I couldn't leave and nobody made sure I actually did have a break. So those are the things that we have to ensure.
Speaker 4:And don't get me wrong pain working conditions are, you know, the top of the things and we can't get away from it. We can't pretend that they're not important, that we can fix it with all the other interventions, because if the basics are not right, care workers go to work hungry, no matter what well-being support you provide to them and free yoga classes. That's not going to put food in their bellies. Hopefully, with the spending review June 2025, we'll get some money for social care. I'm forever hopeful. I don't necessarily think that we will, but you never know. But we've got the fair pay agreement coming in, we've got the case you review coming in, and and I honestly truly hope that they're not just going to be tick boxes activity by politicians to say we've done it, now, leave us alone, but they're actually going to bring change to care because and significant change of that- wonderful.
Speaker 2:So I mean sabrina, caroline has gone into a lot there. What do care providers risk if they're not going to get on board with this, if they're not going to be proactive? What do they risk, especially from an insurance point of view? Where does it leave?
Speaker 3:Sure Well, carolina, I agree with everything that you've said there. So care providers that don't invest in well-being and support of their staff, they really do face increasing operational, financial and reputational risks. The sector is very much at a turning point now. Regulatory expectations, public scrutiny and insurance practices are all evolving to place far greater emphasis on the workforce culture and staff outcomes. So from a practical standpoint, failing to act on staff well-being leads to higher turnover, increased absenteeism, ultimately poorer continuity of care. So it's not just an internal issue. It has direct implications for compliance with the care quality commission requirements under the new single assessment framework. Care quality commission now places significant emphasis on how well services support and value staff, so especially in areas of leadership, safety and responsiveness.
Speaker 3:So financially, inaction is it's costly. The rise in the national minimum wage and the increases in the employer national insurance contributions they're tightening margins across the sector. Agency cover recruitment, unplanned absences adds even more strain. So from an insurer's point of view, the workforce is now recognised as a key risk indicator. So when a provider can't demonstrate a positive staff culture, low incident rates or proactive wellbeing policies, it ultimately can result in higher premiums or more restrictive terms. So in worst case scenarios providers could struggle to secure cover at all, especially for things like employers liability insurance. So, looking forward, the insurance industry is likely to become even more selective. Insurance providers will want to see evidence that risk is being mitigated through strong governance and a preventative approach. This includes investment in mental health support, training and transparent communication channels. Ultimately, if providers are not proactive, the risk is being left behind financially and reputationally. But if they act now by embedding staff well-being into the core strategy, they can position themselves in a safer, more sustainable position and, ultimately, providers will benefit from stronger regulatory performance and ensure a confidence.
Speaker 2:And I mean final question for you both what do you feel the future holds for care and for the care staff that work day to day to support the most vulnerable among us?
Speaker 4:So, like I mentioned already, we've got Casey Commission coming up, we've got the Spending Review coming up, and I think they will be very much deciding factors in what the future holds. I think, without the a significant change in the understanding, attitude and approach to social care by the government, we will very quickly start seeing some very disturbing, heartbreaking stories all over the media in large numbers about people bearing the consequences of that, and they are going to be people who draw on care and support. I hope that what the future holds for care workers is a significant pay uplift in recognition of the important work that they do supporting lives of other people, recognition of care workers as skilled professionals, because they very much are, and the government really needs to fully understand that and stop speaking about care workers as the unskilled workforce. I don't think we can deliver that without registration, without a professional body. I think the status of a professional comes with certain requirements, but we have to be careful how we do it, to make sure that we're inclusive of the current workforce, we don't put barriers for people, but we also ensure quality and values-based approaches. So, quite honestly, I can't tell you what. There are too many things that are cooking at the moment that we'll see what comes out of them.
Speaker 4:Fair pay agreement negotiations are going to be key to all of this and what the settlement actually ends up being and if the government is going to fund it, because we can have a fair pay agreement.
Speaker 4:All they want, you know, to huge amounts of. Oh, let's pay care workers £30 an hour. That would be great, but if nobody funds it and the care providers don't have money to actually pay for it themselves, and then care businesses across the country collapse and care workers lose jobs, it's not good for anybody, so there has to be backing from the government themselves and then care businesses across the country collapse and care workers lose jobs. It's not good for anybody, so there has to be backing from the government. Not just let's have the agreement, but also let's fund the agreement. Let's recognize the sector and let's understand how much work social care actually does for the society, not just as the Cinderella service to the NHS, not just as the place where we send everything the NHS doesn't want to do all the time, but as a service in its own right. That's incredibly important to people, where care workers spend with people sometimes years, every day, create incredibly strong close and they help people live the lives that people want to live.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and it sounds like there's lots of factors to take into consideration. But again, same question to you, sabrina when do you see the future and what it holds?
Speaker 3:The future of care and the workforce that powers it will be shaped by decisions and investments that we make today. Ultimately, there is a growing recognition now, both publicly and within the government, of the essential nature of social care, but that recognition needs to actually translate into structural change. The workforce is under enormous pressure. Rising demand, increasing complexity of care and ongoing funding gaps continue to challenge sustainability. But there are also real opportunities if we embed workforce well-being into the core of the policy, commissioning and business practice, and I'd like to think we can reshape the sector into one where staff feel genuinely valued and supported. This does include better paying conditions, of course, but also the tools to allow our care workers to thrive in their roles. We're already seeing early movement in areas like career pathways, digital training platforms and mental health provisions, often obviously supported by charities like the Care Workers Charity and forward-thinking providers.
Speaker 3:However, there are systemic issues that still need to be addressed, for instance, the recent tightening of the rules on the overseas workers. It's disrupted recruitment pipelines, just as the sector faces unprecedented demand. So unless government policy aligns more closely with the needs as the sector faces unprecedented demand, so unless government policy aligns more closely with the needs of the sector, including funding the reform, visa flexibility and workforce planning. The risk is that there's going to be a growing gap between demand and capacity. That said, providers who invest in culture, in leadership and in their people will be much better placed to weather those changes. And the future should and I suppose can be one where staff well care staff are not only protected but they're professionally fulfilled, and where care is not just seen as really sort of a last resort career but it's a first choice vocation. And I think that, with the right partnerships, policy shifts and leadership, that vision, I'd like to think, is within reach.
Speaker 2:Wonderful Now I could speak to you both all day. Unfortunately, that's all the time we have for on this episode. I'd like to thank you both for joining me and for all of the insight that you've shared. Is there anywhere that people that are interested in what you've had to say can contact you? Carolina is that? Do you have a social media platforms or anything you'd like to share?
Speaker 4:yes, well, we are all over social media platforms. As the. As the care workers charity, our logo is a orange background with a white umbrella, so look out for that, and you can always go to our website on thecoworkerscharityorguk to get in touch with us or find out more information.
Speaker 2:So I'd like to say thank you ever so much, and until next time. That's been Fortune Favors the Brave.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to this episode of Fortune Favors the Brave from Howden. To hear more episodes and subscribe to our channel, search Fortune Favors the Brave on your favourite podcast app.