Enable Scotland now pays £10.40 per hour, going beyond the Scottish Government-funded pay increase
One of the country’s largest social care charities has announced an increase in its basic rate of pay for its 2,000-strong frontline workforce.
Enable Scotland now pays £10.40 per hour, going beyond the Scottish Government-funded pay increase to £10.02.
The pay rise means that the basic contracted rate of pay for Enable Scotland’s frontline care and support workforce will have increased by 90p per hour from September 2021, equivalent to more than £1,800 per year for a full-time personal assistant, or £150 per month.
The charity’s action will further support its own workforce in what has been a traditionally low-paid sector, the majority of whom are women, and goes beyond the rate at which providers are funded to deliver social care.
Theresa Shearer, Enable Group chief executive, said: “In the autumn, we announced plans to raise basic frontline pay beyond the real living wage to £10 per hour from 1st October 2021. Shortly after our intervention, the Scottish Government announced it would fund frontline social care pay at £10.02 per hour from 1st December which we warmly welcomed at the time.
“This gave us the opportunity to look at our own financial modelling to develop an enhanced proposal beyond that, and I am pleased to announce that Enable Scotland, a charity that has campaigned and influenced for better pay for all 148,000 frontline social care workers across Scotland, is increasing pay for our frontline workers within a wider Committed to Care package.”
John Mooney, Unison Scotland head of social care, said: “Unison, in concert with Enable Scotland, has campaigned for better terms and conditions for the social care workforce over the years and we have reached agreements in the past which have benefited our members and which are beyond the level set for the Scottish Living Wage. It is clear that the Scottish Living Wage is not retaining staff within the sector, and the offer of £10.40 is an example of Enable Scotland’s commitment to moving beyond Scottish Government minimum requirements.”
