Karolina Gerlich, Chief Executive at The Care Workers’ Charity, shares insights from frontline voices and sets out a vision for a fairer, sustainable care system.
As we reflect on the past year, one truth stands above all others: without care workers, there is no care. Across the UK, care workers have continued to show compassion and professionalism under immense pressure. They bring comfort in crisis, dignity in vulnerability, and stability in uncertainty. Yet despite being indispensable, too many still feel unseen, undervalued, and unheard.
At The Care Workers’ Charity (CWC), our focus this year has been unwavering: to ensure that care workers are not just part of conversations about social care, but at the heart of them. Through our Care Worker Advisory Board and Champions Project, we have listened directly to those delivering care every day. Their insight and commitment continue to shape our vision for meaningful reform.
2025 has been a year of progress, persistence, and challenge. The Government’s independent commission on adult social care reform, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey DBE, has renewed attention on long-term sustainability. Yet this progress sits alongside real setbacks. The decision to end the Health and Social Care Visa route has caused disruption and hardship, both for migrant care workers who form a vital part of the workforce and for providers already struggling to recruit and retain. The impact has been deeply felt, revealing how fragile the system remains when its workforce is treated as expendable.
At the same time, local authorities continue to warn of financial strain and structural risk, with adult social care costs in England surpassing £32 billion (House of Commons Adult Social Care Reform: The Cost of Inaction Report, 2024). County Councils Network describe a “triple whammy” of rising demand, workforce shortages, and ongoing reorganisation. These realities underscore one truth: reform cannot succeed without the people who make care possible.
Our 2025 Care Worker Wellbeing Survey, completed by over 2,000 care workers, highlights the scale of pressure they face:
- 1% reported feeling unhappy or depressed.
- Over one-third said their work harms their mental health, yet only 52.6% felt adequately supported.
- 1% do not feel financially secure; 22.9% have relied on food banks.
- 4% have experienced or witnessed bullying or harassment.
- 7% are considering leaving the sector, and 26% would do so immediately if they could.
These are not abstract numbers. They reflect a workforce giving far more than it receives: one that our society cannot afford to overlook.
Care workers are not asking for applause; they are asking for fairness. They want pay that allows them to live securely, workplaces that support their wellbeing, and recognition of the expertise and emotional labour their roles demand. They seek opportunities for training, clear progression, and a meaningful say in shaping their work. They want a system that values them as the foundation of care.
As we move into 2026, our collective resolution must be to act on what care workers have long told us: change must begin with them. Co-production, involving care workers from the earliest stages of reform, must become the norm. Without their voice, policy risks being detached from the reality of delivering care.
At CWC, we have seen the difference care worker leadership makes. This year, members of our Advisory Board and Champions Project have contributed to national discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care, the Care Quality Commission, and researchers at the University of Oxford and the University of Sheffield. Their expertise has informed debates on pay, wellbeing, and the future of the workforce.
The year ahead must be about turning listening into action, investing in fair pay, safe staffing, and accessible training, while embedding wellbeing as essential – not optional. We must build a culture where care workers are respected, supported, and empowered to shape the future of their sector.
Change does not happen through policy alone; it happens through people. It happens when care workers are heard, when employers commit to fairness, and when we unite behind a shared goal: a sustainable, fair, and dignified social care system for all.
Looking back, we see a year of determination. Looking forward, we see an opportunity: to build a system that truly reflects the worth of those who make care possible every day.
Because in 2026, the strength of our care system will be measured by how we value those who hold it together.
