Scottish housing, care and property management organisation Wheatley Group has received real living wage accreditation.
Wheatley Group, which comprises four social landlords, a care organisation, a foundation and two commercial subsidiaries, received accreditation as part of recognition of its commitment to paying its 3,000 employees and contracted staff the living wage of at least £12.60 per hour. It has until May 2025 to implement the new rate.
The real living wage is an independently calculated rate that is updated annually, which is paid voluntarily by employers. It is based on an analysis of the wage employees need to earn in order to afford a decent standard of living, which includes housing, childcare and heating costs.
Louise Smith, strategic director of group people services at Wheatley Group, said: “At Wheatley, we value our staff and appreciate how hard they work every day to support our customers. Paying the real living wage helps us recruit and retain staff and is also good for morale and productivity. Importantly, it’s also the right thing to do. It is another way Wheatley is an employer of choice and an organisation people are proud to work for.”
Lynn Anderson, Living Wage Scotland manager at the Poverty Alliance, added: “The real living wage is one of the most important tools at our disposal to help make an impact on levels of in-work poverty in Scotland. Accreditation ensures that both directly employed and contracted staff have the security of a real living wage.”
Tom Arthur, minister for employment and investment, said: “At last week’s draft Budget, we allocated £3.5 million to support fair work practices such as payment of the real living wage. The Scottish government has championed the real living wage since 2015 and we have made it a legal requirement for all organisations receiving grant funding from a public body to pay the rate. This has enabled Scotland to have the highest proportion of workers being paid at least the real living wage or higher in the UK.”
