Anchor becomes Living Wage employer

Care provider Anchor has become an accredited real Living Wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation.

Anchor, which employs over 9,000 colleagues across the country, says it is the largest care and housing provider to achieve accreditation and commit to paying colleagues the real Living Wage for the foreseeable future, following an annual pay review each spring – which is higher than the National Minimum Wage.

The news comes as research by the Living Wage Foundation and Smith Institute shows that if a quarter of those earning below the Living Wage saw their pay rise to the real Living Wage, the increase in wages, productivity and spending would deliver £1.8bn pounds back in the UK economy.

Anchor has already been paying its staff the real Living Wage, moving from National Living Wage hourly rates on 1 December 2021, for all roles across all services across the country.

Anchor marked its accreditation as a real Living Wage employer with a plaque unveiling ceremony at its head office in Bradford, on the first day of Living Wage Week, the Living Wage Foundation’s annual celebration of the Living Wage movement.  

Louise Barnard who works as a care team leader at Anchor’s Ashcroft care home in Undercliffe, Bradford, says: "I love working at Anchor and supporting the residents who live in this home. I’m proud to work in social care and making a difference, so to work for a company which recognises and rewards the importance of my work by committing to paying the real Living Wage means a lot to me, especially given the increasing costs of living."

And Kate Smith, executive director of business services at Anchor, adds: "We’re very proud to become an accredited real Living Wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation, which enshrines our commitment to ensuring that people working in the housing and social care sector are appropriately rewarded for their hard work. We also hope it will attract more people to join the sector to ensure we continue to deliver high quality services for residents.

"Last year, we believe we became the first large provider of care and housing to pay all our colleagues, whatever their age, at or above the Living Wage Foundation’s real Living Wage rate. We are committed to providing competitive rates of pay, an excellent range of benefits and outstanding opportunities to develop careers in a hugely fulfilling sector. We’re proudly not-for-profit which means every penny we make can be reinvested for the benefit of our colleagues and the older people who live in our locations."

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