A CARE provider which pays its employees the living wage has received national accreditation praising its commitment to staff.

Your Choice Homecare a home care service, based in Chorley New Road, has been awarded the Investors in People Standard.

Investors in People is the UK’s leading accreditation for business improvement through people management and focuses on championing best practice.

Your Choice Homecare, which was recently given a rating of ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) pays its staff at least the Greater Manchester living wage of £7.85.

Geraldine Watterson, owner and manager of Your Choice Homecare, said: “Believing in your team is paramount.

“Rewarding and investing in their future enables Your Choice Homecare to deliver outstanding care and support to all our customers.

“We are all very proud to have achieved Investors in People accreditation — an amazing effort was made by all.”

Your Choice Homecare aims to promote customers’ independence and encourage them to perform as many daily living activities as they are able to by themselves.

During its Investors in People assessment, inspector John Spitz found Your Choice Homecare demonstrated a “major commitment” to staff — meaning the workforce were “highly motivated and committed”.

His report adds: “The owner had worked hard in formalising and putting in place structured policies and procedures and was shown to be fully committed to facilitating a continuous learning and development environment.”

This opinion was repeated by inspectors who visited the service for its recent CQC inspection, who said staff described the company’s leadership as “phenomenal”.

Steve Burrows, managing director of Investors in People in the north of England, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Your Choice Homecare and I would like to congratulate the team on their success.

“We believe good people make a great business and Investors in People is designed to help organisations and their staff realise potential, enhance performance and meet goals.

“With their accreditation success Your Choice Homecare is certainly working to realise their people potential.”