The living wage is good for business

Today the UK Living Wage rate has been set at £7.85 per hour, an increase of 2.6% on the 2013 rate and 21% higher than the national minimum wage of £6.50 per hour; improving the take home pay of 35,000 low-paid workers across the country who are employed by over 1,000 Living Wage accredited organisations.

Mike Kelly, Head of Living Wage at KPMG stated that the “Business benefits of the Living Wage include higher retention and productivity, and over 1,000 responsible businesses recognise this. The Living Wage may not be possible for every business, but is certainly not impossible to explore the feasibility of paying it.”

 Stephen Uden, Head of Corporate Citizenship, Nationwide reinforces this message“To celebrate Living Wage Week we are proudly displaying the Living Wage logo to demonstrate we are part of a movement of responsible businesses. Increased staff motivation and retention rates, reduced absenteeism and recruitment costs are common benefits reported following implementation of the Living Wage".

As the Living Wage companies are showing fair treatment of employees is a key factor in building reputation and trust in a business which in time will help to boost sustainable long-term value.