CIPHR becomes a living wage employer

HR software business CIPHR has received living wage employer accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation.

The Marlow-based technology group, which employs more than 200 staff across its three brands CIPHR, Digits Industries and Payroll Business Solutions (PBS), has pledged to pay all of its employees at least the real living wage rather than the UK’s minimum or national living wage.

According to the group, which noted that it has been paying most of its staff above the minimum and living wage for the past few years, workers are guaranteed to earn at least £9.50 per hour, or £10.85 if they are based in London. The minimum rate for staff aged 23 and above is currently £8.91 per hour and will rise by 6.6% to £9.50 per hour from April 2022.

The real living wage will be increased later this month to reflect the rise in actual living costs over the past year, with the new rate announced on 15 November as part of Living Wage Week.

Claire Williams, director of people and services at CIPHR, commented that this is an “extremely proud” moment for the organisation, as its staff are at the heart of what it does and it is committed to aligning pay to the real living wage to ensure that all employees are paid a fair wage that reflects the actual cost of living.

“We also feel it is immensely important to recognise the part we play in supporting social mobility and reducing poverty, and this accreditation is a small contribution to this,” she said.

Katherine Chapman, director at Living Wage Foundation, added that she is “delighted” to welcome CIPHR as a living wage employer, who joins almost 9,000 employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to pay more than the government minimum to make sure all their staff’s salaries are enough to live on.