Over 30 employees at two Cambridgeshire charity-run social care services will be given the real living wage from April.

National adult health and social care charity, Making Space, has announced it will pay all employees a minimum of £9.90 per hour (the voluntary real living wage).

The increase will see full-time support workers earn an additional £1,700 a year.

The Limes, a residential care home in Ely for people living with dementia or mental health conditions and Cambridgeshire & Peterborough carers support service based in St Neots will benefit from the rise.

This will be the second pay rise for essential workers this year, with the charity having already started to pay the new UK statutory national living wage from January, three months ahead of schedule.

Phil Orton, executive director of HR at Making Space, said: “Our long-standing aspiration has been to pay our colleagues at a rate that makes them feel rewarded for the work they do.

“Despite working through the most challenging times over the last two years, they continue to provide outstanding care and support to some of the most vulnerable people in society.

“They deserve to be paid at a level that takes account of the real cost of living which is why we want to pay a real living wage.”

Making Space’s investment is in line with its commitment to attract, develop and support exceptional people to deliver passionate and skilled care.

Employees on pay points already equal to or exceeding £9.90 per hour will see their annual income increase, with 85% of all Making Space workers receiving a rise of between 3.9% and 9.2% by April.

Rachel Peacock, CEO at Making Space, said: “We absolutely value the hard work, commitment and sacrifice of the amazing people who provide the best quality care and support to the people that use our services.

“Bringing forward the pay increase helps us to reward those incredible efforts and show the value that we place upon our frontline roles.”

Phil added: “While we continue to do everything we can to attract and train the best people to deliver outstanding care and support, we also need the government to do a lot more.”