Cumbrian care organisation Bellcare Domiciliary has been accredited as a living wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation.
The organisation is now committed to paying its 130 employees a minimum of £9.30 an hour, with senior care staff seeing their pay increase to £9.70 per hour, from August 2020. This sees an average pay increase of 30p per hour, with the majority of employees previously receiving an hourly rate of £9.00.
Employers that become an accredited living wage employer commit to paying more than the government minimum wage, which currently stands at £8.72 for employees aged 25 and over. The Living Wage Foundation is calling on businesses to voluntarily pay employees a minimum of £9.30 an hour, and £10.75 in London, exceeding the minimum legal requirement.
Carol Wilson, director at Bellcare Domiciliary, said: “As a business, Bellcare does all it can to make our Bellcare family feel valued and appreciated.
“We know how hard being a community home carer can be, getting accredited to the Living Wage Foundation will go towards showing respect and admiration to our workforce.”