Yorkshire care staff get 8% pay rise

Yorkshire social care employees are being given an 8% pay rise taking their pay to 14% above the living wage.

Staff at West Park Care are on permanent salaried employment, not - as is often the case - on zero-hours contracts, so the carers are being given the pay rise in line with the UK government increase in the living wage on 1 April.

Providing home-based care for both the elderly and less able, Managing Director Tom Page started the company having seen the poor standard of care his own grandfather received.

Care visits by staff from the Harrogate-based company are tailored to provide both support and companionship with a very person-led approach.

MD Tom Page said, “We are very happy to be able to do this for the carers we employ, all of whom are on permanent contracts, not zero hours.

“We want to remain significantly above the living wage, which we are now and will continue to be with this pay rise. We will be around 14% above the living wage and significantly more on weekends.

“We are everything we are because of our carers. They are the backbone of our business. They mean so much to the people whom they care for, so it was a no-brainer to reward them too.

Set up in 2018, the SME has recently moved premises after only a few years to not only provide additional office space but also provide facilities for more in-depth on-site training for staff.

Tom added: “We place as much importance on the benefits to our staff as we do on the individuals we care for. This person-centred approach to the whole business has gained us the reputation that we now thrive on as we continue our expansion into other areas in Yorkshire over the next few years.”