MS welcomes £1,000 payment for social care staff

Social care staff in Wrexham and Wales who are eligible for the real living wage from April will receive an additional £1,000 payment as the Welsh Government announces further investment in the sector.

A further £96m is being invested, on top of the £43m to introduce the real living wage, and Wrexham’s Member of the Senedd, Lesley Griffiths has welcomed the announcement.

Ms Griffiths said: “Introducing the real living wage was one of Welsh Labour’s key pledges so I am pleased the changes have been implemented in the first year of this new government term.

“This additional payment, costing an extra £96m, further underlines the Welsh Labour Government’s commitment to supporting people in this sector.  The last two years have been extremely challenging so it is right to recognise just how valued and crucial the workers are, supporting some of the most vulnerable people on our society.”

The £96m investment for the additional payment is on top of the £43.2m announced in December to ensure social care workers receive the real living wage in 2022-23.  Around 53,000 social care workers will be eligible for the additional payment.

The additional payment, which is aligned to the introduction of the real living wage, will be £1,498 before deductions for tax and national insurance.  Care workers on basic rate of income tax can expect to receive £1,000 after deductions.

The Welsh Government expects that the additional payment and the real living wage will be processed in people’s pay from April to June, due to the complexity of the care sector and the large number of employers involved. The additional payment will be available as a single payment or monthly instalments.