Care firm steps up commitment to staff with real living wage accreditation

A Gwynedd care company is bucking the trend when it comes to employment conditions in the care industry by offering all staff the opportunity for long-term progression within a new formal career structure.

It follows Meddyg Care, which operates specialist dementia care homes in Criccieth and Porthmadog, being recognised by the Living Wage Foundation as a real living wage employer.

This involves paying wages over the legal minimum to both its staff and its contractors. There are currently just eight such companies in the Welsh care industry.

Meddyg Care wants to show that care can offer the possibility of a lifelong vocation, with good pay paired with real opportunities for training and progression with the right employer.

To this end, the new transparent career structure includes training and qualifications coupled with bonuses and regular increases in pay to enable its employees to see how they can develop.

The company believes its own plans for growth, revealed following its management buyout, will provide further opportunities to staff.

Managing director Kevin Edwards said: “This new career structure is vital if we want care to be able to compete as an industry of choice for those with ambition and the desire for a vocation instead of just a job.

“At Meddyg Care we always look to invest and develop our staff in line with the specialist provision we offer to our residents, but by paying the real living wage we want to show that carers are valued from day one.

“We all know how hard carers have worked during the pandemic, and while we want to recognise that, we also want to underline that care can offer real, rewarding careers that grow and develop with the individual.”

Laura Gardiner, director, Living Wage Foundation, said: “We’re delighted that Meddyg Care has joined the movement of over 7,000 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 Meddyg Care, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.”

The current real living wage is £9.50 per hour for anyone over 18 and is calculated by the Resolution Foundation based on the cost of a minimum standard of living in the UK in 2021.

The UK government’s national living wage is £8.91 for those over 23, while the national minimum wage for those under 23 is £8.36.