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Living Wage is good for business

Businesses need to adopt a Living Wage Policy in cities outside of London, according to a survey from Manchester think tank, New Economy.

Their figures show that minimum wage of £6.79 does not cover the cost of living in Manchester.

People living in the Greater Manchester area have to earn a minimum of £7.22 an hour for a full working week in order to enjoy a reasonable standard of living, with the bottom 10% of the population earning just £6.87 an hour.

The survey’s results have brought into question whether Manchester and other cities should bring in a Living Wage Policy like that in London to ensure employees do not struggle to make ends meet.

The Living Wage is independently calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK, and businesses can volunteer to pay their employees this set wage.

Paying staff a salary that can afford them a reasonable quality of life has been shown to be great for business, as 80% of employers who have implemented it have reported a better quality of work from their staff, as well as 25% decrease in absenteeism

These figures from an independent study done for charity Living Wage Foundation demonstrate the advantages of paying employees a fair wage to improve business.

Two thirds of employers said that recruitment and retention was significantly impacted upon and 70% of employers felt that the Living Wage had improved their customers’ awareness of their commitment to be an ethical employer.

In London, the Living Wage Policy brought 10, 000 families out of poverty, and adoption of the scheme in other cities could vastly improve business as well as the quality of life for workers.

John Holden, deputy director of research at New Economy, said: “Whilst a living wage would certainly help some households, we’ve found that it is not a stand-alone solution and a much wider approach is needed in areas such as housing, transport and childcare to ensure a reduction in all basic costs.”

Citizens UK are a charity backing the Living Wage campaign and have joined the Living Wage Foundation to advance this idea.

A spokesperson for Citizens UK commented: “ We reward and celebrate businesses who sign up to the Living Wage across the UK. The benefits are multiple and employers find that it improves their reputation, lowers staff turnover, improves customer service and productivity as well as producing a higher retention rate.“

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .