Across the UK, there are just 5,272 companies formally signed up to paying the Real Living Wage. As of today, make that 5,273.
If you’re an employer, you’ll know there’s more than one type of minimum wage. There’s the Minimum Wage, which currently stands at £7.70 per hour. There’s the National Living Wage, which ups the hourly rate to £8.21. And then there’s the Real Living Wage (RLW), a calculation based not on the compromises of businesses and trade unions, but on the actual cost of living. The current RLW rate is £9.00 per hour.
Optimised Energy is proud to be a Real Living Wage employer.
The right thing to do
The number of businesses currently paying the RLW isn’t large. Of the 253,000 registered UK businesses with more than 10 staff, just 1 in 50 pays the Real Living Wage. Yet numbers are growing, with 207 companies in the manufacturing sector alone now championing the RLW.
For Optimised Energy, the move represents a natural progression built on the values of the business.
“It’s important that we recognise that being a sustainable business has many facets, and they don’t all have environmental implications,” says Optimised Energy MD James Wood (you can find out more about our holistic approach to sustainability here). “We understand that the sustainability of our workforce – of protecting the skills and expertise our clients value - is something worth paying for."
“We believe that paying the Real Living Wage is the right thing to do. But we also know that our clients demand exceptional levels of service. And those needs are better met by a team that we can retain and develop, and who feel motivated and valued. The RLW is only one element of our commitment to our people, but it’s an important one.”
The Optimised Energy team have the expertise to help you get the best out of your energy, whatever your industry. Contact Us to find out how.