BLACK SWAN CARE GROUP CELEBRATES COMMITMENT TO REAL LIVING WAGE

BLACK SWAN CARE GROUP CELEBRATES COMMITMENT TO REAL LIVING WAGE

Black Swan Care Group has today accredited as a Living Wage Employer.

Their Living Wage commitment will see everyone working within Black Swan’s twenty residential care homes receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.90 in the UK, significantly higher than the government minimum for over 23s, which currently stands at £9.50 per hour.

 

Black Swan Care Group is based in the East of England, a region where over 15% of jobs pay less than the real Living Wage - around 392,000 jobs. Despite this, Black Swan Care Group has committed to pay the real Living Wage and deliver a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.

 

The real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to the costs of living. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their staff earn a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum. Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 300,000 people and put over £1.6 billion extra into the pockets of low paid workers.

 

Black Swan Care Group has been astounded by the amazing commitment of their 700+ staff team throughout the last two years working throughout an unprecedented situation in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic. They’ve gone above and beyond in every possible way acting not only as carers, but taking on multiple and varied roles that would never have normally been expected of them.

 

From taking on the mantel of hairdressers and to ensure on-site salons and pamper days continued at all of our services; to being a friend to our residents and ensuring regular contact with residents family members when we were unable to have visitors, and continually maintaining the person-centred ethos of the company to ensure the highest quality of care to our residents throughout the East of England.

 

Managing Director Tom Lyons told us why Black Swan Care Group have chosen to make this commitment:

“Throughout the last two years we have seen the staff in our care homes demonstrate bravery; compassion and unrelenting dedication to their roles every day.’

“We have been overwhelmed by their commitment and courage, and are pleased to announce that we will be raising our staffs wages from April 2022 in line with our commitment to being a Real Living Wage Employer.’

“Being a Living Wage Employer means all staff across Black Swan Care Group will be paid a wage which matches employees everyday needs, assessed and agreed upon by an independent body.

We wanted to say a huge thank you to each and every member of our team across the East of England for going above and beyond for our residents daily”.

 

Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation said: “We’re delighted that Black Swan Care Group has joined the movement of almost 9,000 responsible employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on.

 

“They join thousands of small businesses, as well as household names such as Burberry, Barclays, Everton Football Club and many more. These businesses recognise that paying the real Living Wage is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like Black Swan Care Group, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay."