It’s Living Wage Week from the 9th to the 15th November, and as a Living Wage Employer we’re taking the opportunity to remind businesses why they should sign up.
What is the Living Wage?
The Living Wage Foundation established the real Living Wage in 2001, and it remains the only UK rate based on living costs. Rather than the UK’s minimum wage (which is the minimum under 25s can be paid) or the national living wage (which is the minimum for over 25s), the real Living Wage is calculated according to what employees and their families need to live.
The real Living Wage is voluntarily paid by almost 7,000 UK businesses. Everyone over the age of 18 is covered by the real Living Wage, and there is a separate higher rate for London to cover the increased cost of living there.
Why pay the Living Wage?
There are numerous benefits to paying employees the real Living Wage. 86% of Living Wage Employers state that it has improved the reputation of the business, with 78% saying it has increased motivation and retention rates for employees. The movement has delivered more than £1billion in extra wages to workers since it began, and has lifted 240,000 people out of in-work poverty.
BrewDog, who began voluntarily paying the real Living Wage in 2014, reduced staff turnover on their retail sites by 40%, drastically reducing their recruitment costs in the process. BrewDog spent £130,000 on recruitment in 2015, but in the first four months of 2016, spent only £10,000.
Transcendit became an accredited real Living Wage employer in 2018. Director Adam Kuznesof says it was an easy decision to make, ‘Paying our employees a living wage, which they can use to support themselves and their families has always been something that Transcendit has been passionate about.’
‘It’s about illustrating that we appreciate our employees, respecting the time and effort that they put into the business, and demonstrating that we want them to feel comfortable working here. The people that work here make Transcendit - we want our employees to know that they are valued.’
What you can do during the real Living Wage week
During Living Wage Week, Transcendit are encouraging businesses to become real Living Wage employers. Becoming a real Living Wage employer makes your organisation more enticing to prospective employees, whilst encouraging job retention and reducing recruitment costs.
During the pandemic, the UK has relied on its key workers; 1.3 million of which are earning less than a real Living Wage. This includes over half of care workers. We’re encouraging employers to respect and value their employees by paying them a wage which reflects their living costs.
‘We understand that businesses have had a difficult year,’ says Adam ‘But so have our employees. Our employees are the people that our customers associate with Transcendit; they’re the people that they speak to over the phone, and the people that are helping them with their IT problems, and the people creating their websites. The wellbeing and happiness of your employees affects your business.’
‘We’re asking businesses to think of their staff - they deserve a wage they can depend on, and an organisation that recognises the impact they have.’
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