Pay boost for social care staff: workers guaranteed Living Wage for overnight hours

Social care staff working ‘sleepover’ hours are to receive a pay increase, Health Secretary Shona Robison has announced. Care workers will now be paid the real Living Wage of £8.45 for sleepover hours, meaning the Living Wage will now be received for all hours worked.    Continue reading Pay boost for social care staff: workers guaranteed Living Wage for overnight hours

Arts & Business Scotland becomes Living Wage employer

Scottish charity Arts & Business Scotland has been officially accredited as a Living Wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation and Scottish accreditation body, the Poverty Alliance, joining organisations in Scotland who have committed to paying their staff at least the Living Wage rate of £8.45 an hour. Continue reading Arts & Business Scotland becomes Living Wage employer

Mininimum wage abuse employers named and shamed

Fifteen Scottish firms are among more than 350 UK companies to have been “named and shamed” by the UK government as national minimum and living wage offenders yesterday. Andthat lenghty list could have been even longer – HMRC is currently investigating more than 1,500 open cases. Continue reading Mininimum wage abuse employers named and shamed

Scottish Canals is Scotland’s 700th Living Wage employer

Scottish Canals has become the 700th Scottish-based Living Wage accredited employer. Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work Keith Brown made the announcement while visiting Scottish Canals at the Falkirk Wheel where he met staff benefitting from their commitment to fair work principles.

Continue reading Scottish Canals is Scotland’s 700th Living Wage employer

MSP calls on local organisations to pay the Living Wage

ben-macpherson-living-wage-employer

Edinburgh Northern and Leith MSP, Ben Macpherson has welcomed the new Scottish Living Wage rate of £8.45 an hour and encouraged more employers across Edinburgh to sign up as Accredited Living Wage Employers. 

The Scottish Living Wage, calculated to meet the cost of living, is reviewed every year based on living standards. The rise of 20 pence per hour will benefit thousands of workers at Living Wage-accredited organisations across Scotland, including many in Edinburgh. Across the area, there is already an encouraging amount of accredited Living Wage Employers – including Cyrenians, Volunteer Edinburgh, Port of Leith Housing Association, Visit Scotland, YMCA Edinburgh, Edinburgh International Science Festival and The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. 

Ben Macpherson is a recently accredited/an accredited Living Wage employer himself, and works with the Scottish Living Wage Accreditation Initiative to promote the Living Wage in Edinburgh Northern and Leith.

The Edinburgh Northern and Leith MSP said: “The new Living Wage of £8.45 will be a welcome pay rise for thousands of workers across Scotland and in Edinburgh Northern and Leith, ensuring that people’s basic wage continues to meet the real costs of living.  

“I would encourage all businesses in Edinburgh to consider becoming Scottish Living Wage employers. For business, paying the Living Wage makes sense and benefits us all – it’s an investment in people and all the evidence shows it leads to increased productivity and reduced staff absence and turnover, while sending a strong signal to customers about fairness. 

“With millions of workers worse off as a result of the UK Government’s welfare cuts, and low pay one of the main drivers of in-work poverty, employers can make a real difference by choosing to pay the real Living Wage.

“I encourage all businesses in my constituency to recognise the benefits of paying the real Living Wage.”

Childcare costs: Rowntree Foundation calls for radical overhaul

mother and childNew research from the independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) highlights the impact the prohibitive cost of childcare has on parents’ ability to make ends meet and care for their children – even taking into account the rise in the National ‘Living Wage’.

Continue reading Childcare costs: Rowntree Foundation calls for radical overhaul