The Living Wage commitment will see everyone working receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.30 in the UK or £10.75 in London. Both rates are significantly higher than the government minimum for over 25s, which currently stands at £8.72 per hour.

In the East of England more than a fifth of all jobs (19%) pay less than the real Living Wage - around 448,000 jobs. Despite this, CKH, based in Peterborough, has committed to pay the real Living Wage and deliver a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.

The real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to the costs of living. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their employees earn a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum. Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 230,000 people and put over £1 billion extra into the pockets of low paid workers.

Claire Higgins, CEO of CKH said: “At CKH we recognise that our people are the most important part of who we are, and feel that it is only right that they receive the Living Wage. We employ the very best people across all areas of our business, and in order to attract that talent we know we need to ensure our colleagues are able to live well on the wages we pay.

“This is particularly true in our care service – a sector notorious for poor pay. We aim to set ourselves above the competition and thereby attract the highest calibre of employees. We know this pays off, and leads to high levels of customer satisfaction and great returns for the business. Happy staff means happy customers!”

Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation said: “We’re delighted that CKH has joined the movement of over 6,000 responsible employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on.

“They join thousands of small businesses, as well as household names such as Burberry, Barclays, Chelsea and Everton Football Clubs, Lush, and many more. These businesses recognise that paying the real Living Wage is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like CKH, believe that a fair day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay."