Carers have welcomed Wirral Council's "bold" decision to approve the sector's " largest pay rise in recent years".
Under the new plans, w orkers who provide home care for some of the most vulnerable people in the borough will get a significant boost in pay . Wirral’s Director of Care and Health has now approved an increase in payments which will enable local providers to pay Domiciliary Care workers a minimum of £11 per hour, up from the current Real Living Wage of £9.90.
The aim is to support the sector with recruitment and retention of staff and improve the focus on developing more attractive careers for workers, while also rewarding the essential work they do. Provision of home care is vital to help with those being discharged from hospital which is currently identified as a pressure point for the local NHS.
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A report by the council said, although the authority already currently meets the Real Living Wage for front line staff, this is not competitive to support providers with recruitment and retention of workers. The council report highlighted that there is a “national staffing crisis” within Health and Care settings following the pandemic which is impacting on the continuing hospital pressures.
The move has been welcomed by Gary Nagle, Operations Director at Professional Carers, one of the leading home care providers in Wirral.
He said: “This is the largest pay rise provided to our workforce in recent years. For some, this equates to an 11% increase from the Real Living Wage. Recognising the ongoing demand in the sector to manage and support those requiring community home care, coupled with additional pressures of travel, fuel consumption, anti social hours and cost of living rises, something needed to change.
"Care Workers are needed now more than ever and we work hard to support our staff, improving their terms and conditions and focusing on employment perks and additional benefits, such as mileage, bonuses and reward and recognition initiatives."
The Director of Care and Health, Graham Hodkinson, has approved the increase in rate for the Community Care Market, Domiciliary Care until March 31, 2023. The decision will come at an estimated cost of £1.2m if all providers take up the offer of additional funding to help boost the recruitment and retention of domiciliary care staff.
Leader of Wirral Council, Cllr Janette Williamson, said: “This is a bold move but the right one to make – domiciliary care is crucial to helping vulnerable people live with dignity in their homes, and allowing our hospitals to treat people who need to be there. Domiciliary care workers deserve a decent wage and I’m incredibly pleased and proud Wirral is leading the way in ensuring they get that.”
The increased rate will be funded from Social Care Grant and market sustainability funds allocated to the Council from The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
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