Bluebird Care Shropshire Celebrates Real Living Wage Commitment

We have been accredited as a Living Wage Employer.

Our Living Wage commitment will see each of our employees earn a minimum hourly wage of £9.90, a significant increase on the government’s set minimum wage for over 23s of £8.91 per hour.

As part of our commitment to being truly market-leading, Bluebird Care Shropshire has exceeded this requirement, having recently increased wages for those team members over 23 years old by 20 percent. As a result, colleagues at Bluebird Care Shropshire now receive £11 an hour on weekdays and £12 an hour at weekends to deliver person-centered care directly to customers in the comfort of their own homes. Employees also receive pension contributions and great career progression opportunities in a positive and purpose-driven sector.

We have committed to pay the real Living Wage to reward our employees with a fair day’s pay in return for a hard day’s work caring for people in their local community. In the West Midlands alone, almost a fifth of all workers (19.3%) earn less than they need to get by, with around 430,000 jobs paying less than the Real Living Wage.

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 earns a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum.

Speaking of the accreditation, Sammie Milton, Bluebird Care Shropshire’s Recruitment Officer, said:

“We are delighted to reward those who work so very hard for our brilliant customers with truly market-leading wages. We are wholly committed to doing right by our staff and believe that offering stability, competitive pay and career progression does exactly that.”

Jodie Bonner, a Care Assistant at Bluebird Care Shropshire, said:

“It has been a really uncertain and unpredictable time to be working in the health and social care sector. Bluebird Care Shropshire has provided us with stability, comfort and in doing so has allowed us to perform our jobs to the best of our ability during the pandemic. There is no better feeling in life than feeling valued.”

Katherine Chapman, Director of the Living Wage Foundation, said:

“We’re delighted that Bluebird Care Shropshire 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 Bluebird Care Shropshire, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay."