Despite delays to the Employment Rights Bill becoming law* and the chatter over its impact on the roadmap to implementation, the Government has published its consultation paper on the Fair Pay Agreement process for adult social care in England.  

The paper provides those in the sector with some understanding of how the Government intends to bring this sectorised collective bargaining into being. On the plus side, it's comprehensive and provides context for what the Government is trying to achieve. More pessimistically, it skims over the elephant in the room of the cost implications of an FPA to providers.  

What's in the consultation?

• Forming the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body - as outlined in the ERB, this body (which will negotiate the FPA) must represent both workers and employers. The paper proposes that workers will be represented by a trade union group on behalf of the unions in the sector and the employers by an umbrella organisation (Care Provider Alliance), which will convene and coordinate providers.  
• Negotiation process - it proposes negotiations will work on a cyclical basis and follow a six-stage process starting with a remit letter from the Secretary of State and ending with the FPA being ratified and changes coming into force for workers. The FPA will be negotiated annually as is standard practice and the first agreement is envisaged in 2028.
• Coverage and remit - coverage addresses which workers will be impacted by the FPA and how they are defined. The definition in the ERB is wide and so through this part of the consultation, the Government is seeking to give detail and ensure employers understand more practically the boundaries of the impact. It is proposed that agency workers come within the coverage, but self-employed workers will not. The remit refers to what the negotiating body will address - whether issues such as training, additional leave and even cultural setting will be included. 
• Dispute resolution - this discussed the process that will be followed should the parties in the negotiating body fail to make an agreement. Without an agreement, it will be for the Secretary of State to make a decision.
• Implementation - once an agreement has been reached, it will be reviewed and then ratified and so become automatically enforceable in workers' contracts. Guidance and codes of practice will be provided to assist employers with implementation.
• Compliance and enforcement - as noted above, guidance and codes of practice will be introduced to ensure compliance and enforcement will be taken up by the new Fair Work Agency.

What should you do?

• The consultation opened on 30 September and runs until 16 January 2026 so there is no immediate rush.
• We would advise those in the sector to read the consultation document carefully to understand the Government's intentions. 
• Engage with the sector umbrella bodies (such as Care England, Homecare Association, National Care Association, National Care Forum, Voluntary Organisations Disability Group) to support their submissions to the consultation and help you determine whether your organisation should be responding separately. 

If you wish to respond, you can do it in three ways:

1. Respond individually as an organisation with no discussion or input from another party.
2. Discuss your response with an umbrella body and respond either as part of their response or use their input/insight in your own individual response.
3. Speak with a member of our team who can assist you with your response and discuss the implications of the questions posed.

As ever, please do not hesitate to contact us for further information or advice.  If you have not already, sign up for our Employment Law Update on 2 October at 9.30am for a practical and informative look over the last 12 months.  

*the Employment Rights Bill will now be debated by the House of Lords on 28 October 2025.  If they agree with the House of Commons’ rejection of the majority of their amendments, the Bill will then be ready for Royal Assent. If that is the case, we would expect the Bill to become law in early/mid-November.