Three-in-five frontline care workers are paid less than the real Living Wage despite there being over 210 care providers accredited at the Living Wage foundation.

As a champion for the Real Living Wage, Seniors Helping Seniors has been speaking out about valuing carers properly and raising awareness of the Living Wage in Care. Every partner is passionate about paying carers properly and the organisation is participating in the Real Living Wage Week which kicks off 9th November 2020.

Seniors Helping Seniors also champions older workers and is active in the government’s initiative to help people distanced from job opportunities.

Older people are disadvantaged in the workplace generally and pandemic has made it worse. The number of older workers seeking unemployment related benefits doubled during the lockdown. Anyone over 50 who is unemployed is twice as likely to be out of work for 12 months or more.

One in four older workers – 2.5m people in total – have been furloughed, and hundreds of thousands will be unable to return to their previous jobs. In every community the companies employing older workers are closing and Seniors Helping Seniors has sustainable jobs to offer.

The Living Wage foundation asked Sally Wilse, Co-Owner of SHS UK, about the company’s growth and the importance of paying their carers the real Living Wage.

Social Care, Fit for Purpose

Seniors Helping Seniors is a care franchise using a unique model to tackle two of the biggest issues facing our ageing society: elderly care, and employment opportunities for people as they age. As the amount of people in retirement age increases, Seniors Helping Seniors helps by providing non-medical home care for older people in need of support and active seniors are employed to help.

There has been a massive spike in demand for Homecare because of the pandemic and clients are willing to pay privately or supplement their allowances to receive the support they need.

Seniors Helping Seniors carefully matches carers to every client. The same person visits at times chosen by the client. The client pays in arrears, has 100% flexibility and the fees are flat fees so clients can budget safely. Carers are paid above the Real Living Wage for the hours they work and they work when they want to. As any helper is only likely to support 1 or 2 clients at a time, it is not a big commitment for any individual and there is no shortage of eligible carers coming forward for the work. Carers say the work is fulfilling. They love to utilise their skills and experience and they appreciate the opportunity to work to support their community.

The company is looking for partners to operate A Seniors Helping Seniors in South-East and East of England to help satisfy demand for their services