Celebrating UK national ‘Living Wage Week 2020’at Radfield

Radfield Home Care Shrewsbury and Oswestry has been celebrating UK National Living Wage Week 2020, a campaign that launched on November 9th 2020 showcasing the benefits of offering a ‘Living Wage‘ to both employees and clients.

As a Living Wage foundation accredited employer Radfield Home Care Shrewsbury and Oswestry guarantees their care professionals receive the independently calculated ‘real’ Living Wage rate – the only UK rate based on actual living costs and is recalculated annually. As of November 2020 an impressive 78% of Radfield Home Care’s network have become Living Wage accredited, demonstrating Radfield’s commitment to fair and transparent pay for their care professionals.

The Living Wage Week 2020 campaign itself saw focus placed on employers within the health and social care sector, due to the vital role care assistants play in society and the importance that paying a real living wage has upon retaining and developing highly skilled carers.

Sonya Cole, registered care manager of Radfield Home Care Shrewsbury and Oswestry offers her thoughts on the importance and relevance of becoming a Living Wage accredited employer, and the benefits it affords to both care professionals and clients alike:

Why did you become a living wage employer?

“We became a living wage accredited employer in 2019, as we recognised the importance paying a real living wage has for our care professionals. We are always keen to recognise and reward the hard work carried out by our carers, and the adult social care sector in general, and fair and transparent remuneration is the first step.”

What are the main benefits Radfield can offer to its care professionals by being a living wage employer?

“Alongside the other benefits we provide our care professionals, embodied in our Caring for our Carers™ , we want our carers to know that their work is truly valued and to offer a wage that reflects the actual daily cost of life – in a sector that has to a large extent been underpaid and undervalued.

Ultimately, we want to provide our care assistants with the essential reassurance that they are in a career they can afford to stay and progress in. We actively encourage our staff and prospective carers to check the real wage they earn by checking the Govt. living wage calculator tool. Radfield Home Care Shrewsbury and Oswestry is proud to recognise and reward the essential work they do, and in 2020 with Covid-19 we have seen just how vital they are, and how challenging this work can be.”

What are the benefits to Radfield’s valued clients?

“For us a great benefit is that care professionals are able to afford to stay and develop within their role, guiding others and really promoting the excellence in care standard we offer to our clients. Our clients feel reassured that we genuinely care about our care professionals and they know they will always receive that consistently high quality of care from them.”

Being an accredited Living Wage home care Provider benefits not just Radfield’s clients and care professionals, but also the wider adult social care sector. Promoting and championing the concept of a real living wage means Radfield is pushing the agenda for change on low care sector wages. Radfield Home Care Shrewsbury and Oswestry is proud to be able to play a part in this.

If you would like to find out more about Radfield Home Care jobs and how you can join the team, you can visit www.radfieldhomecare.co.uk or contact the office directly [email protected] or 01743 245 555.