Portsmouth-based shipping business Portico has received living wage employer accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation.
As part of this commitment, every Portico employee will receive a minimum hourly wage of £10.90. This is higher than the government minimum for those aged 23 and above, which currently stands at £10.42 per hour.
The real living wage is calculated by the Living Wage Foundation according to the cost of living. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that want to ensure their staff earn a wage they can live on and not just the government minimum.
In the south-east region where Portico is based, more than 9% of all jobs pay less than the real living wage, which equates to around 374,000 jobs.
Melanie Bunting, HR business partner at Portico, said: “We know all our staff working across the business are essential for the continued success of Portico and the excellent service our customers receive. By becoming an accredited real living wage employer, it is the right thing to do by our staff. With many of our employees living in the local area, it will also benefit the local community as well.”
Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation, added: “We’re delighted that Portico has joined the movement of more than 12,000 responsible employers across the UK which voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on.”