Following the changes brought about by Brexit and COVID-19, Neil Russell, Chairman of specialist care providers PJ Care, says the Living Wage has helped them to attract new staff.
Much has been said in the last 18 months about the hard work of care staff and how deserving they are of our thanks as a result. While there may have been more overtime worked during that period, the dedication our staff showed to our residents was no more or less than it is 365 days a year. That's why we feel paying the Living Wage is the least we can do.
Becoming an accredited Living Wage employer in April has been hugely impactful for many of our staff. They now find they don't have to wait for their pay packet at the end of the month before they can go and do their food shopping and they rely less on the few weeks' grace credit cards give them.
While staff are understandably private about their personal finances, our team of Wellbeing Angels, who provide a support network for close to 600 colleagues at our care centres, know that there are fewer worries now.
We would very much like to be able to pay our staff more as they are caring for people's precious relatives using their skills, extensive training and their passion for what they do. However, as our residents' placements are entirely funded by local authorities and clinical commissioning groups, wage rises are limited by the rates these bodies are able and willing to pay.
But what the Living Wage has done is helped us compete in an increasingly challenging jobs market.
The current number of vacancies across all sectors has meant that we are now competing not just with other care providers but with retailers, warehousing, hospitality venues and more. Rates of pay offered for these roles in the areas we operate in - Milton Keynes and Peterborough - can be up to £11.00 per hour.
While we can't offer the same rates, being an accredited Living Wage employer takes us closer to them. It also says to potential new recruits that we have given thought to our rates of pay and that staff welfare is important to us.
The introduction of mandatory vaccinations for staff in the care sector has presented another challenge to maintaining staffing levels. We have invested heavily in a recruitment campaign and being able to display the accredited employer logo has been a great benefit in catching people's eye.
We feel that having that higher rate of pay has also been a contributory factor to us retaining more members of our team than we at first anticipated. It is a key part of a wider benefits package that includes defined contracts, not zero hours, and enhanced maternity and paternity pay, death in service benefits and support during the menopause.
The care sector desperately needs more funding in order for us to increase wages further, to a level that truly reflects the essential work staff like ours do. But until that time, we are happy to see the comfort the Living Wage is bringing, and the little bit extra that's left in people's accounts at the end of the month.