US-based Hermit Woods Winery has introduced a $15 an hour living wage, which will be funded via 3.5% surcharge on its products.
The surcharge, which came into effect on 19 August 2016, will provide the organisation with additional income to increase staff wages from $12 (£9.17) an hour to $15 (£11.46) an hour. The funds raised by the surcharge will cover the majority of the salary increases.
The pay increase was introduced by the New Hampshire winery’s owners, who wanted to align the organisation's pay with a living wage suitable for the cost of living in the area, which is approximately 16% higher than the rest of the US.
Bob Manley, co-owner at Hermit Woods Winery, said: “We have built a hardworking dedicated team. We want to be able to reward them with a living wage so they can support their families and pursue their passions in life as we have.
“Some of our employees are in school or just out of school and have college debt to pay off while others have families to support, two of whom are single mums. If they’re going to work hard to help us grow our business, we want to make sure they have the resources to afford to live.
“We want to [reassure] our customers that every penny raised via this surcharge will go towards increasing our employees' pay and nothing else.”
