We are delighted to welcome Austen Smyth, CEO of The Richmond Fellowship Scotland, to the Living Wage Scotland Leadership Group. The Group is made up of employers and experts from across Scotland, whose role is to provide advice on the implementation and future development of our work.
We caught up with Austen recently and asked him to share his experiences and thoughts on the real Living Wage.
Tell us about The Richmond Fellowship Scotland and your current role there?
The Richmond Fellowship Scotland started as a Scottish Charity in 1993 with one small service in Glasgow. The Charity has grown to be the largest provider of adult social care services in Scotland. We deliver personalised, high-quality community-based services in 26 of the 32 local authorities for people who require support in their lives. Some may have mental health difficulties, learning disabilities or autism; others may have dementia, alcohol or drug issues.
I have been the CEO of The Richmond Fellowship Scotland for 18+ years. The benefit the Charity brings to vulnerable people’s lives is immeasurable and can be lifesaving. The values of the charity are paramount and can be found at TRFS Values. We employ over 3500 staff colleagues and recognise that we are a people driven organisation achieving the best for vulnerable through the skills, compassion and caring support provided by our staff colleagues.
We aim to promote the concept of fun for the people we support and also our staff colleagues. We back this by investing in our Participatory Funding initiative for both the People We Support and our Staff Colleagues. Every year we make available over £140,000 for “Outcomes are Fun” activities that are designed and lead by the People We support and our Staff Colleagues. We have created the first dedicated Fun Team with Fun Achiever posts who deliver fun initiatives within services and online.
Why is paying the real Living Wage important to TRFS?
Human based services can be demanding but also highly rewarding. We pay beyond the real Living Wage even though our funding is based on Living Wage rates for frontline Social Care Staff. We want to respect, value and remunerate our staff colleagues fairly. This is not only an employer’s responsibility but it is also a responsibility of funders, customers and the public to value Social Care and to support fair funding.
Why do you think a real Living Wage is now more important than ever?
We are in a cost of living crisis. Society needs to look after the most vulnerable during this time and also the staff who support them.
What do you view as the barriers to a real Living Wage within the Care sector and how do we overcome these?
The challenge going forward is one of increasing costs, reducing public spend and increasing demand for essential services. Funders and Employers need to work together to value services and retain them by attracting great staff into the workplace. The NHS get great support and valuing by the public. We need to see this for the Social Care Sector and have public protective ring around akin to how the public values health services. The Social Care workforce are at the vanguard of how a civilised country treats its most vulnerable and disabled citizens. We all need to shoulder support for the Social Care Workforce…the employer, the funder and the politicians (nationally and locally). Old ideologies of best value that focused on lowest cost need to be replaced by sustainable funding and sustainable remuneration to value the workforce and the disabled.
Do you have any advice for employers who are hesitant about paying a real Living Wage?
If you are hesitant about paying the Living Wage then think on what is the cost of high turnover and stressed staff colleagues whose eye is on how to cope with mortgages, rent, food and energy costs rather than on how to contribute and make your organisation a success.
What are you looking forward to about working with the Leadership Group?
I am looking forward to being a member of the Leadership Group to bring my experience of Social Care and the wider funding connections and systems. I hope to make a difference and look forward to working along with the other members of the group.