A nurse-led care at home service has become the first to receive a prestigious accolade in Scotland.

Visiting Angelz, a Renfrewshire-based service, has been awarded the status of Living Hours accredited, a first for social care employers in Scotland.

Specialising in personal and domestic care across Renfrewshire since 2012, the company has met the stringent requirements of the accreditation, including payment of the real Living Wage to all employees over the age of 18, providing a minimum of four weeks’ notice for every shift, guaranteed payment for cancelled shifts within this period and a minimum of 16 hours every week.

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The company, which has been an accredited Living Wage employer since 2019, has achieved this while ensuring a contract that accurately reflects hours worked.

Angela Magee, service manager and owner of Visiting Angelz, said: "In these times of hardship in our communities, it is important to not only pay people fairly, but to provide them with stability and security at work and the opportunities that come with that through secure working terms.

"Hard-working, dedicated people should have the opportunities to realise their full potential in all areas of their lives.”

Rachel Morrison-McCormick, projects co-ordinator at Living Wage Scotland, added: "We are delighted to welcome Visiting Angelz as our first social care Living Hours employer.

"There are over 3400 Living Wage employers in Scotland and it is great to see Visiting Angelz take further steps to protect their workers from low pay and insecure work.

“The values that led them to commit to the real Living Wage are the same values that have led to their expanded commitment to fair work at a time when workers need it most.”

According to research by the Living Wage Foundation, over 9 per cent of Scottish workers are in insecure work and earn below the Living Wage, accounting for approximately 250,000 workers.

It is in response to these figures that the Living Hours standard was established, aiming to provide people with predictable working patterns and income enabling them to plan their lives more efficiently.