About Pathways to Progress

Pathways to Progress is a three-year project aiming to enhance fair work in Scotland’s social care sector. Delivered by Living Wage Scotland at the Poverty Alliance, Pathways to Progress is one of 10 projects funded through the Robertson Trust’s Work Pathways programme. These projects are looking at different aspects of improving job quality to tackle in-work poverty in Scotland. 

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Why is this project needed?

The social care sector provides an essential service, ensuring people are able to continue to live a full life through age, illness and disability. The funding and policy landscape, and public opinion, does not reflect the value and importance of this sector and workers often feel underpaid, undervalued and overworked. Recruitment and retention are major challenges as demand for care continues to rise with an aging population. At the same time, changes to immigration policy have made it harder for international workers to join the sector. Understaffing and insecurity can also lead to workers needing to take on additional hours, leading to overwork, and many workers report limited options for career development or progression. Pathways to Progress is working with social care workers and employers to identify ways of implementing fair work practices, and reducing the risk of in-work poverty for workers in the social care sector.

What are we doing?

We’re working with two large, non-profit care organisations to identify ways to improve people’s protection from poverty while working in social care. This includes exploring how better pay, secure hours, pensions, and other Fair Work standards can be achieved, and how ready employers are to implement to Living Hours.

Worker voices are at the heart of this project: we are speaking with staff to understand how low pay and job insecurity play out in their day to day, and where change is needed.

We are interested in creativity and innovation: providers who have implement fair work practices, despite the restraints of funding or policy. These will be highlighted in case studies focused on successful initiatives, and ongoing challenges.  We are learning what works (and what gets in the way) to help others make improvements that enhance job quality across the social care sector. 

Our work is guided by a Social Care Expert Group, who provide insight and support the sharing of learning across the sector. 

View our Resources

Team Roles

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    Lynn Anderson

    Project Manager

    Lynn is the Living Wage Scotland manager and is responsible for the effective delivery of the Pathways to Progress project.

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    Dr. Laura Robertson

    Research Manager

    Laura is the research manager at the Poverty Alliance and oversees the research elements of the Pathways to Progress project.

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    Dr. Laura Jones

    Research Officer

    Laura is responsible for the research elements of the project, including supporting workers involvement and overseeing monitoring and evaluation activities.

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    Anna Hirvonen

    Engagement and Learning Officer

    Anna is responsible for employer engagement within the Pathways to Progress project as well as overseeing knowledge exchange and dissemination strategies.

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    Seth Reynolds

    Systems Change Consultant

    Seth is a leading expert in complex methodologies associated with systems change and will be guiding employers through a set of workshops.

Expert Group

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    Rob Gowans

    Rob Gowans is the Policy and Public Affairs Manager at the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE). Rob’s work includes planning the ALLIANCE’s policy engagement activity, developing policy positions on issues of importance to members, and engaging with the Scottish Parliament and Government to deliver positive change. Rob has more than 17 years’ experience in policy roles in the third sector, previously holding roles at Citizens Advice Scotland and the Scottish Youth Parliament. He is also a member of the Boards of the Poverty Alliance and the Human Rights Consortium Scotland.

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    Karen Hedge

    Scottish Care

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    Rhiann McClean

    IMPACT

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    Eddie Follan

    COSLA

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    Ian Cunningham

    Strathclyde University

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