Weymouth Town Council has become a real living wage employer, accredited by the Living Wage Foundation.
The organisation has announced its commitment to pay all employees rates that match the living wage of £9.30 an hour, in line with the living wage rates set by the independent accreditation organisation the Living Wage Foundation.
The living wage, which is calculated each year to meet the cost of living and supporting a family in the capital, is currently set by the Living Wage Foundation at £10.75 per hour in London and £9.30 for the rest of the UK. The current legal minimum requirement that an organisation must pay its employees currently stands at £8.75 per hour for employees over 25.
Despite over a quarter (25%) of employees earning less than the real living wage in the Weymouth area, the council has set an agenda to deliver fair pay for its hard-working employees.
Luke Wakeling, chair of the human resources committee at Weymouth Town Council, said: “Weymouth Town Council wants to be a council that people are proud to work for and a place that is proud of its employment conditions.
“We live in an area where work can be hard to find and can be seasonal and such work is usually lower paid. Locally some communities live with significant deprivation in terms of pay, education, health, and housing.
“As a council, we are committed to addressing this deprivation and improving the lives of our employees. Offering fair pay and leading by example is just one way we can do this and the first of many benefits we hope to bring to the communities we serve.”