Home care staff set to get real Living Wage


Some of Bristol’s lowest paid care staff look set to receive a pay rise following a £1.12 million investment from Bristol City Council.


Most homecare staff in Bristol are employed by private care providers and are often some of the lowest paid workers in the city.


Despite this they are responsible for helping some of the most vulnerable people to live independently at home for as long as possible.


The council is now encouraging home care providers to increase these carers’ wages to at least the real National Living Wage of £8.75 an hour, although the council says it would like to see them paid £9 to £9.50 an hour. The pay rise will be funded by an investment from the authority to homecare providers.


During a cabinet meeting in early July, the ruling Labour cabinet agreed to increase the hourly rate paid to homecare providers in Bristol to £17.68 as of 13 August this year and £18.20 from 1 April 2019.


The investment will come with higher expectations around increased staff pay rates and any provider that does not accept the conditions will not be paid the increased hourly rate by the council.


https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/local-news/pay-rise-lowest-paid-care-1757347