Unison urges employers to pay staff registration fees for care council

Unison is to mount a campaign to ensure that social care organisations pay their employees’ fees to register with the General Social Care Council.

The move by the public services union follows the announcement that children’s home and domiciliary care staff will be the next groups to register with the council.

However, half of employers that responded to a consultation on the issue said they would not pay registration fees on behalf of their staff

Unison welcomed the GSCC’s decision to recommend a £15 annual registration fee, but said employers would need to pay the fees if they were to recruit and retain staff.

It also said the regulator’s proposal that workers without qualifications should only have to start working towards one within the first three years after registration was a “missed opportunity” to drive up standards in the sector.

Workers will only be required to complete a qualification after six years, but Unison said many could leave the sector during this period, given current staff turnover levels.