Southdown Becomes A Real Living Wage Employer

We are delighted to announce that Southdown has become a Real Living Wage employer following approval for a pay rise for all staff from April 2023 by the Southdown Board.

With wages set above the current Real Living Wage rate, this pay award places Southdown as a leader in the local care sector and above retail competitors.

A 3% unconsolidated back-dated bonus payment will also be awarded to all eligible staff at the end of March 2023 and follows three other cost-of-living payments we have made since 2022 and building on the 2% general pay award we made from April 2022.

A key priority for Southdown has been to address the recruitment and retention challenges we face in the social care sector, with a specific focus on pay and responding to cost-of-living pressures. We are actively seeking to alleviate in-work poverty and enable people to live well in Southdown.

Neil Blanchard, Southdown’s CEO, says,

“I feel proud of what we have been able to achieve on pay and this is certainly the boldest approach that I can recall Southdown taking over my 22 years with the organisation. I hope that it shows that myself, the Executive team and our Board take our role as a responsible employer seriously and that we’ve looked to do everything we can to support our staff in the short-term as inflation reaches a peak as well as for the longer-term.

“Our ambition is to always maximise investment in pay and reward. When we perform financially better than we had predicted, we consider how we can further reward colleagues. This is in recognition of the hard work, commitment and flexibility of colleagues that has contributed to the improved position, whilst also acknowledging that teams have had to cover vacancies or take on additional tasks.”

We are pleased to announce the following pay agreement, effective from April 2023:

• All staff will receive a minimum 5% salary pay rise.
• 64.5% of workers in lower paid roles will receive between a 6.7% to 12.5% rise.
• Our base pay rate will increase from £10.22 to £11.50 per hour (Full Time Equivalent £22,126 per annum), placing us well above the current Real Living Wage rate of £10.90 and above local care and retail competitors.
• An increased sleep-in rate in our Learning Disability Support services from £45.50 to £55.00

Going forward, Southdown will continue to campaign for fair funding for fair pay across our services.

To find out more about what it’s like to work with us and view our current vacancies, please click here.