NEWS
PCP chief executive Carol Gaskarth with staff at the charity’ s Cobblers Hall premises.
FAIR PAY, EVERY DAY
PCP reaccredited as a Living Wage Employer
Award-winning health and wellbeing charity Pioneering Care Partnership( PCP) has once again been accredited as a Living Wage Employer, reaffirming its commitment to fairly paying employees and creating a great place to work across the North-East and beyond.
PCP joins more than 15,000 UK employers committed to ensuring their employees earn a real Living Wage – one that covers everyday needs.
With more than 135 employees and services that reached more than 134,000 people in the last year, PCP’ s recertification underlines its values: putting people first, inside and out.
PCP operations manager Vicky Browning said:“ We’ re proud to be recertified as a Living Wage Employer. This reflects our ongoing commitment to offering meaningful, fairly paid roles where people feel valued and supported.
“ This year, we awarded an inflation-based pay rise of at least 3.5 %, which was above the 2.8 % rate at the time- and employees on our lower pay bands received a 4.5 % increase.
“ We’ ve listened to feedback, and once again adjusted our lower pay grades to offer extra support where it’ s needed most. As part of our commitment to the Real Living Wage, we know that supporting financial wellbeing is a key part of helping people thrive.”
PCP’ s commitment to its employees goes beyond salary. The charity regularly reviews pay in line with inflation, supports employee wellbeing and adapts its pay structure to better support those on lower incomes.
In 2023, all employees received an additional £ 500 cost of living payment – a reflection of PCP’ s responsive and people-first approach during challenging economic times.
See our coverage of the Make Your Mark Awards on pages 20-33, which includes a double win for PCP.
DURHAM COUNTY COUNCIL APPOINTS NEW LEADER
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new Leader of Durham County Council has been appointed at the authority’ s annual meeting.
Cllr Andrew Husband was voted into the post, with his appointment marking a new political leadership for the council.
Cllr Husband will lead the first Reform political group to control the council, and announced the following appointments to his cabinet:
Cllrs Darren Grimes( deputy leader and cabinet member for finance, policy and communication), Howard Brown( adults and health services), Cathy Hunt( children and young people’ s services), Stephen Gray( digital and customer services), Lyndsey Fox( economy and partnerships), Karen Allison( neighbourhoods and environment), Nicola Lyons( stronger communities and belonging), Joe Quinn( resources, investment and assets) and Tim McGuinness( rural communities and highways).
Cllr Husband was born and raised in County Durham and represents the Chesterle-Street North ward.
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