Law firm Birketts has pledged to become an accredited real living wage employer in order to support the financial wellbeing of its workforce.
The pledge would see every employee at the firm earn the real living wage, along with any regularly contracted workers. The firm hopes that doing this will improve productivity, enhance retention, attract top talent, ensure financial stability and promote employee wellbeing.
According to Birketts, its commitment to the real living wage will help to assure both current and prospective employees that their compensation reflects the actual cost of living, rather than just the government-mandated minimum, and foster a sense of financial security.
The real living wage is based on the cost of living and the price of a basket of household goods and services. It is voluntarily paid by UK employers to their employees who are 18 and older in order to ensure they are paid a wage which meets their everyday needs.
The current rate is higher than the government’s minimum and national living wage, at £12.60 across the UK and £13.85 for London.
Fiona Wellstead, head of HR at Birketts, said: “Financial wellbeing is a core aspect of our health and wellbeing initiatives. We are acutely aware of the financial pressures that many employees still face in today’s economic climate and want to ensure that our people earn a wage that meets the costs of living, not the government minimum.
“While we have informally applied the principles of the real living wage for a number of years during the salary review process, we have now pledged to become an accredited real living wage employer, which not only assures that our own employees are always paid a wage in excess of the cost of living, but also commits to encouraging our suppliers to do the same for their own employees.”
