Bristol Community Health has decided that all staff salaries are to meet or exceed the Living Wage, after a consultation with union representatives and staff.

Our organisation is bringing salaries in line with the Living Wage, an independent calculation based on the basic cost of living in the United Kingdom. The Living Wage can be adopted voluntarily by businesses. At £7.85 an hour it exceeds the national minimum wage and has been seen in national studies to improve quality, increase staff retention, and reduce absenteeism.

“We’re proud to pay our hard-working staff the Living Wage”, says Julia Clarke, Chief Executive. “We have made a community pledge to add social value in the work we do, including tackling inequalities, supporting the well-being of our community, and involving the community in decision-making. We believe that these values should apply to everything we do, including the way we reward our employees.”

As a Community Interest Company (CIC), Bristol Community Health must ensure that its assets and profits are dedicated to the benefit of the community. The organisation is employee-owned, with most staff holding a nominal £1 share in the business. The social enterprise, which delivers over 35 services in and around Bristol, has over 1200 staff including 800 frontline nurses, therapists and healthcare assistants.

The increase to salaries was driven by Bristol Community Health’s Staff Council, which represents employees at Board level and champions employee ownership and engagement. The package was agreed following significant consultation with staff and negotiation with the organisation’s Joint Consultative Negotiating Committee (JCNC), a committee involving union representation from various professional bodies.

“After large scale consultation with staff and positive negotiation with trade unions, we have agreed an improved package which all staff can opt into.”

Penny Phillpotts, HR Director said: “We really value our staff and we want them to be rewarded fairly and equitably. After large scale consultation with staff and positive negotiation with trade unions, we have agreed an improved package which all staff can opt into. This has been extremely well received, and we are now well underway with the implementation of the new terms.”