WHEN Jane and John Perry went into the care sector over eight years ago, one of the improvements they wanted to make was to raise not only the profile of the care worker role but also the rate of pay.

“It has always been an extremely low-paid sector but we wanted to give extra in terms of the hourly rate and mileage,” said John. “We have always been one of the highest payers and when the living wage accreditation started we signed up to it almost immediately.”

They became a franchisee with the agency Bluebird Care after becoming frustrated at the options for Jane’s grandmother who was needing support to stay in her own home.

“We were unimpressed with the standard of care available at the time so we decided to set up with Bluebird Care because of their care-sector expertise but more so on their emphasis on quality,” said John.

Their two Edinburgh franchises now cover the whole of the city while their Glasgow one covers Clarkston.

“Low pay is one of things we wanted to change when we came into it in 2008 and the effect of the living wage has been really positive,” John said. “Our employees see we are making beneficial changes and the better paid they are for their professionalism and dedication to their role, the more people are attracted to the sector and that is also good for our customers.”

Their two franchises in Edinburgh require a 50-strong team while the Glasgow one has a team of around 30 people who all care for people in their own homes to help them maintain their independence.

“Our front-line staff are our most important asset and we recruit people we would be happy looking after our own families and friends – people who go way beyond the call of duty and go the extra mile on a daily basis,” said John. “We are incredibly fortunate to have them.”

Paying a higher wage has helped Bluebird Care retain staff in a sector where there is often a high turnover.

“High turnover is not good for the business or the customers who like consistency and continuity so we have tried to maintain that over the years. It is difficult as people do come and go but we like to treat people with the respect they deserve so we get a bit of longevity with them. We want them for years, not months, and we have people who have been with us for six or seven years, which in the home-care sector is probably unheard of.”

Another innovation Jane and John have made is to introduce a salary for staff, starting with the employees in Edinburgh.

“We decided to make this investment in our team because we think that is the right way to go,” said John. “We have not got 100 per cent pick-up on it as our variable contracts do work for some people but we have got a reasonably good proportion of people taking it up, giving them security and stability.

“We did it because we wanted to reward and retain the staff we have got and attract more high-quality staff. It is a decision we thought long and hard about but these are the changes we think will be good for the customers and carers themselves because if the staff are not happy then that can undermine our pursuit of excellence in care provision.”

Jane and John believe they may be one of the first to offer their employees a salary but hope others in the private care sector will follow.

“We are trying to make the sector sit up and take notice," said John. "We have spoken to a few other franchisees in our network and a couple of them are going to do it and a few more are looking at it.”