Why Tact Care pays the London Living Wage

They currently have over 500 foster carers providing loving homes for over 600 children and young people. CEO Andy Elvin told us why they became accredited London Living Wage employers.

What motivated us to sign up

Through conducting staff surveys we have realised the distinct necessity and benefit of paying staff a fair and competitive wage, especially in a turbulent market economy and with the rising London living costs. We benchmark these salaries against the industry average. Paying above this average helps us to maintain committed, motivated and productive staff.

The benefits

The ethos that the London Living Wage espouses is completely in-line with our own social and ethical outlook. We don’t want to be known as an employer that gets away with paying minimum wage, that wouldn’t be good for our reputation. Paying the London Living Wage helps us to maintain and promote a positive image for our organisation. It greatly improves the credibility of our charity. The London Living Wage fits with our ambition to be a leader in the sector and provide the best outcomes possible to local young people.

The challenges

We get a small percentage of income from fundraising and local authorities may, in the future, reduce funding to charities, so the challenge comes with making the London Living Wage sustainable and balancing our books so it is affordable. 

Why we'd recommend the scheme to others

If you pay badly it’s likely that you won’t get much in return. Our charity believes that paying the London Living Wage is the right thing to do. If you treat people properly you will get a lot out of them. We rely on people, we provide services to people, so we always put our people first.