Some care workers are losing out on almost £4,000 a year thanks to inflation, a trade union has claimed.

Union GMB claimed that at least 300,000 care workers lost out on up to £3,698 in pay last year as their wages fell below inflation.

ONS figures showed that in April 2010 the average annual salary for care workers and home carers was £12,879, with half of workers paid even less.

This salary was worth £21,549 in April 2023 in real terms, yet only rose to £17,851 – a real-terms pay cut of £3,698 last year.

GMB estimates real-terms pay cuts have affected more than 300,000 care workers identified in the ONS Labour Force Survey.

This follows a decade of underfunding which has left the care sector on its knees. A GMB survey last year also revealed that nine in 10 carers can’t afford time off sick.

GMB said that it has long campaigned for care workers to earn a minimum of £15 an hour and has welcomed the government’s plans for a Fair Pay Agreement that will raise the pay floor through sectoral bargaining with unions in care.

Social care worker Maxine Butler commented: “Before me and my colleagues even start care work we will have already paid for our own registration, car mileage and DBS checks.

“Many are underpaid the minimum wage, and forced to go into work sick thanks to pitiful statutory sick pay.

“And on top of that – the attacks and abuse. Physical and verbal.

“There’s just not enough of us to safely look after vulnerable people.”

Natalie Grayson, GMB national officer, said: “It’s hard to think of a more vital role in society than care work.

“These dedicated professionals look after our loved ones when they are at their most vulnerable – freeing us to make our own contributions to society and the economy.

“And as the UK population ages, their work is only going to get more important.

“Yet despite their crucial role – and the increasingly clinical nature of what they do – care workers suffer some of the worst pay, terms and conditions in the country.

“It’s a scandal that their pay has been cut in real terms since the Tories got in – a lost decade for those on the lowest pay.

“The government’s manifesto pledge for a Fair Pay Agreement in care is a huge step in the right direction – but GMB’s analysis shows that Labour urgently need to get on and make it happen.”