Gosport-based care home and sheltered home provider Thorngate Churcher Trust has been accredited as a Living Wage Employer.

Its Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at its care home and sheltered accommodation developments receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.90, significantly higher than the government minimum for over 23s, which currently stands at £9.50 per hour.

Thorngate Churcher Trust is based in a region where more than 12% of all jobs pay less than the real Living Wage – around 533,000 jobs. Despite this, Thorngate has committed to pay the real Living Wage and deliver a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.

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 earn a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum. Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 300,000 people and put over £1.6 billion extra into the pockets of low paid workers.

Thorngate chief executive Anne Taylor said the charity was committed to ensuring all staff are paid fairly for the tremendous work they do. “We value the incredible contribution our staff make to ensure the health, happiness and well-being of our residents in Russell Churcher Care Home and also our 124 sheltered homes in Gosport,” said Anne. “Becoming a living Wage employer demonstrates our appreciation of their work and our ethical approach to fair pay.”

Katherine Chapman, director, Living Wage Foundation said: “We’re delighted that Thorngate Churcher Trust 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, and many more. These businesses recognise that paying the real Living Wage is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like Thorngate, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.”