EMCOR UK commits to paying the Real Living Wage – Image from EMCOR UK
EMCOR UK has announced that as of 1 April, all its employees are earning the Real Living Wage or more.
The move has been implemented over a year earlier than planned to help to offset the effects of the recent increase in the cost of living.
EMCOR UK became accredited as a Living Wage Foundation Recognised Service Provider last May and pledged to pay the Real Living Wage to staff who worked in facilities leased to and occupied by the company, to promote the adoption of the Real Living Wage to existing and potential customers and supply chain partners, and to submit a separately costed Living Wage bid where possible.
The company‘s aim was to pay all its 4,170 employees the Real Living Wage or above within two years of becoming a Recognised Service Provider. Over the past year, it developed several internal strategies to speed up applying the Real Living Wage for all its employees and transitioned existing client accounts to the Real Living Wage and included Real Living Wage options in all its tenders, to reach its goal in under 12 months.
Keith Chanter, EMCOR UK CEO, said: “We are extremely proud that we are now paying all our employees the Real Living Wage or above and that we have achieved this within a year of becoming a Living Wage Foundation Recognised Service Provider. This… supports our ambition to create a better world at work and to help our employees live more comfortably, especially at a time when the cost of living has significantly increased.”
Kevin Childs, the firm’s operations director, added: “This achievement would not have been possible without the support of our customers who have worked closely with us to enable us to pay all our employees the Real Living Wage across our entire business.”
Nick Coulstock, head of HR at EMCOR UK, added: “We strive to ensure that we support our employees in as many ways as possible and the response from our colleagues to these changes has been extremely positive, making a real difference to their standard of living and wellbeing.”
The Living Wage was launched by Citizens UK in 2001 and the principle behind the Real Living Wage is that work should bring dignity and should allow families to enjoy life’s essentials. The Real Living Wage is calculated annually according to the basic cost of living in the UK and expressed as an hourly wage rate for both inside and outside London.
Research by the Living Wage Foundation reveals that 80% of employers believe that paying the Real Living Wage has enhanced the quality of the work of their employees, while absenteeism has fallen by approximately 25%, and 75% say it has increased employee motivation and retention rates.
From 1 April, the statutory National Living Wage for 21-22-year-olds rose to £9.18 an hour and to £9.50 an hour for those aged over 23. The voluntary Real Living Wage increased to £9.90 an hour across the UK and £11.05 in London.
