Social care charity goes beyond the real living wage for frontline staff

UNISON has welcomed a move by Scotland’s largest charity for people with learning disabilities to raise the pay of all its frontline staff to a rate that’s above the real living wage. From this month, ENABLE Scotland is paying 1,800 of its social care staff £10 an hour. The real living wage outside of London, set by the Living Wage Foundation, is £9.50. The charity says it will mean an extra £1,000 a year for a full-time personal assistant. The charity both advocates for and supports people with learning disabilities, helping them and their families to live, work and take part in their communities. It provides a range of person-centred services designed to adapt to the needs of the people using them. It became an accredited Living Wage Employer in November 2020. At that time it also introduced a trial scheme, paying around 35% of its frontline workforce beyond the real living wage, which proved the positive impact of enhanced pay on recruitment and retention. UNISON: the living wage Theresa Shearer, the chief executive of the ENABLE group, said: “ENABLE Scotland’s strategic intervention will ensure we are able to continue to recruit and retain skilled and motivated frontline personnel to deliver excellent quality, human rights-driven, self-directed health and social care through our personal assistant model. “As everyone is aware, fully addressing the challenges facing the social care sector will require substantial Scottish Government investment and re...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article News care workers: your rights real living wage Source Type: news