The Whiteburn team at Caerlee Mill

The developer’s Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at Whiteburn and on its development projects receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.50. This rate is higher than the statutory minimum for over 23s of £8.91 per hour introduced in April 2021.

The real Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The Living Wage is calculated according to the real costs of living.

Eve McCurrich, managing director for Whiteburn, said: “As a business, we take our social responsibility seriously. We believe that becoming a Living Wage accredited employer demonstrates our commitment to our employees and wider subcontractors. It also ensures their hard work and support to our business is recognised and fairly rewarded.

“Employers choose to pay the real Living Wage on a voluntary basis, recognising the value of their workers and ensuring that a hard day’s work receives a fair day’s pay. Right now, is when standing by these values matters the most and employers who do right by workers and families are the ones that will help lead us through and out of this crisis.”

Peter Kelly, director of the Poverty Alliance, added: “The real Living Wage is one of the key tools at our disposal to help make an impact on levels of in-work poverty in Scotland. The pandemic has shown just how much we need each other to get by and has shone a light on the crucial role of keyworkers. Payment of the real Living Wage allows those in work to become more included in society, better provide for their families, and feel that their value and hard work is recognised by their employer. We are delighted to congratulate Whiteburn on becoming a Living Wage employer. I hope more organisations follow their lead by becoming accredited.”

Lynn Anderson, Living Wage Scotland interim manager, said: “We are delighted to welcome Whiteburn to the Living Wage movement. We are a movement of over 1900 Scottish employers who together want to go further than the government minimum to make sure that everyone can earn a decent standard of living and families have what they need to thrive.

“Our network includes lots of smaller employers as well as larger and iconic Scottish employers like SSE, Standard Life Aberdeen, Barrs, Brewdog, D.C. Thomson and many more. Employers like Whitenburn are helping to set the standard for business in Britain by making sure that workers have what they need to get by and we hope to see many more employers following their example.”