Theresa Shearer on what the Living Wage really means for the sector
The Scottish Government’s deadline for paying all social care staff the Living Wage of £8.25 comes into force tomorrow (Saturday, 1 October).
And as chief executive of one of the nation’s largest social care providers, I couldn’t be happier.
At Enable Scotland, social care means recruiting great people to support people who have a learning disability to live great lives. And that means paying staff a good wage.
Simple, yes?
Well, no! Not by a long stretch. And especially not just now.
Living Wage
I’m well-placed to comment on what the Living Wage really means for the sector. And it is not a happy picture.
As of this week, providers like Enable Scotland are locked in negotiations with local authorities about how much additional funding they can get to support this pay increase.
With days to go, we still had no clarity or comfort from some local councils that they would be in a position to pay us enough money to pay our frontline staff £8.25 per hour.
Yes, the Scottish Government has provided additional funding to support councils to pay providers more.
But it’s not enough…