A WARRINGTON charity has invested £4million into providing its thousands of workers with the 'real' living wage.

Community Integrated Care, which has a branch operating in Warrington, has opted to pay its frontline workers the 'real' living wage, as recommended by the Living Wage Foundation.

This means that the charity will be paying its frontline support workers £10.92 per hour in England, and £11.40 per hour in Scotland, from this month.

This is following a previous £8million investment made by the organisation since November 2021, as part of its commitment to employee pay, reward and wellbeing.

There will also be equivalent uplifts for the charity’s advanced support worker roles and nurses, too.

Jim Kane, CEO at Community Integrated Care, said: “Our people are our priority - and this £4million investment represents a really bold and ambitious move.

"It is a statement to our entire workforce of how much we value and appreciate everything they do, and the incredible impact that they have on the lives of the people we support.

“However, this investment is certainly a leap of faith for our charity, at a time when we have few alternative options, and we understand why for many other social care providers, it is an impossibility.

The CEO added: "Ultimately, until central government take action and provide better financial support to Local Authorities, the sector faces a constant battle to pay its workforce what they deserve.”

Teresa Exelby, chief people officer at the charity, said:“The challenges our sector faces are ongoing - from colleagues and the people we support grappling with rising costs of living, to facing a recruitment and retention crisis that continues to grip the social care sector as a whole.

“While we continue campaigning to policymakers for the wide-scale investment that we so urgently need to achieve this, we know that in the meantime we must do everything we can to support our people.

“We hope that this £4million investment will not only make life a little bit easier for our teams during these challenging times, but also bolster our efforts in recruiting new talent into our workforce and retaining our brilliant colleagues.”