Social care workers in Scotland are being exploited and undervalued, facing zero hours contracts, and working overtime, but for wages which are “drastically low” according to a new report.

Around one in 13 workers in Scotland works providing social care to the elderly, disabled or vulnerable people. According to the independent report, 83 per cent of them are women, but their employment is often unfair, according to the Fair Work Convention.

Many social care employees do not have secure employment and are expected to work excessive hours in order to take home a fair wage. They face problems including zero hour contracts, sessional contracts, working beyond contracted hours and working unpaid overtime to ensure clients receive the care they should.

The report blames funding and commissioning systems which undervalue the sector and warns 15 per cent of workers do unpaid overtime, 20 per cent are not on permanent contracts and although the work requires significant skills, average hourly pay is just £9.79

The report warns of a “race to the bottom” as social care employers are forced to take on underfunded contracts from local authorities. In some cases employers struggle to sustain sick leave and holidays, or contracts do not cover travel costs and this leads to difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff, it says.

The 18-month study was led by the chief executive of Alzheimer Scotland Henry Simmons and Lilian Macer from Unison, who have urged the Scottish Government to intervene.

They are calling on the Scottish Government to create a new watchdog to establish minimum standards and recommend the development of a 'fair work' contract for social care employees.

Co-chair of the Fair Work Convention, Professor Patricia Findlay of Strathclyde University, said: "Enhancing fair work for social care workers is crucial to ensuring that some of our most vulnerable citizens receive a high quality of care.

"It is concerning to see that this is not currently being realised, mainly due to issues caused by existing funding and commissioning systems, and the lack of effective voice for workers.

"The findings highlight the urgent need for policy makers, commissioners and leaders in the social care sector to work together to set minimum fair work standards for the social care workforce, and provide the opportunity for ongoing dialogue and agreement on workforce matters."

The report says: “the level of wages for frontline support staff in social care is drastically low despite the work being complex and demanding.

“Although there have been efforts to address the issues of low pay through adoption of the Living Wage, progress on pay is too slow. This can be perceived as an indication that care work and care workers are not sufficiently valued.”

The report says while many workers are demoralised, others are highly committed to their jobs: “Evidence suggests that care work is rewarding and fulfilling, yet this is not a replacement for pay and other material rewards of work," it concludes.

Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health, Monica Lennon said Scottish Labour would bring in a national care workers’ guarantee to ensure staff are paid for travel costs and travel time and receive proper training, as well as a commitment to the living wage and secure contracts.

"This is an important report that goes to the heart of how we deliver a better health and social care system, one that values our care workforce and has enough of the right staff to deliver the care people need," she said. "The SNP has underfunded its commitment to ensuring care workers are paid a living wage."