Ideal Carehomes, a residential and dementia care provider, has awarded a 5% salary increase to all hourly paid staff as part of a £1.5 million per annum investment.
According to the business, which employs more than 1,300 people across 27 care homes in Yorkshire, the North West and the Midlands, this pay rise is on top of the 2% boost that came into effect in April this year and will result in all salaries being above the current real living wage.
All frontline care staff in care assistant roles will receive more than £1,000 extra per year before tax as a thank you from senior leadership for their continued dedication to the job.
Managing director Stacey Linn commented that she is “so proud” of the whole team, who were full of courage and commitment and put themselves on the frontline throughout the height of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.
She explained that as a people business, with staff are at the core of everything they do, the organisation’s pay rates were already higher than average. Therefore, the 5% extra is a thank you for everything the “dedicated and highly skilled” teams have done and continue to do.
“It is our job to ensure that they are rewarded for their dedication and commitment via employee recognition and pay but also by supporting them through the tough times. As we all welcome a return to our new normal, our team continues to provide outstanding care for our residents and we will continue to care for our team,” Linn said.
Luan Barlow, senior care assistant at the Windsor Court care home in Wetherby, Yorkshire, added: “The past 18 months have been difficult to say the least but I have always felt supported and valued. Working in the care sector is a vocation and we don’t do it for money, but to know that you are appreciated by your employer means a lot.”