Pacific Building makes Living Wage pledge
Pacific Building has become a registered Living Wage Employer.
The company had already been signatories to the now-discontinued Scottish Business Pledge – which required it to meet this commitment – and is an active member of The 5% Club, the nationwide organisation that promotes earn-and-learn skills training.
However, as an employee-owned business, it was keen to underline its dedication to paying the Living Wage to all employees by registering with the Living Wage Foundation.
The Real Living Wage is the only wage rate based on the cost of living, and currently stands at £12 an hour across the UK and £13.15 in London.
There are more than 14,000 accredited Living Wage employers across the UK – including half of the FTSE 100 – who voluntarily pay it to their staff, including IKEA, LUSH and Aviva.
The rate is independently calculated annually by The Resolution Foundation, based on the cost of living and on an analysis of the wage that employees need to earn in order to afford the basket of goods required for a decent standard of living, including housing, childcare, transport and heating costs.
Pacific is now featured on the Living Wage Scotland website and on the UK-wide Living Wage Foundation Employer Map – plus it will now be able to display the Living Wage Employer mark on the company website.
A company spokesman said: “We are delighted to have joined the ‘club’ of Living Wage employers.
“As a dynamic business dealing with blue-chip clients across a range of sectors, Pacific need an improving and motivated talent pool, so we take pride in supporting the foundation’s ambition to invest in our employees and future generations.
“The Living Wage is a demonstration of our commitment to ensuring the workforce of today is respected and motivated to move into the future, and we look forward to learning more about best practice and initiatives through our membership.”
Pacific became an employee-owned business in January 2019, which means every staff member is a beneficiary of an Employee Ownership Trust, which owns Pacific Building Ltd on behalf of all employees now and in the future.