Many people are confused about the difference between the ‘National Living Wage’ and the ‘Real Living Wage’; perhaps some of the confusion stems from the fact that the names are very similar, however they are very different. Firstly, the National Living Wage is a mandatory minimum wage that employers have to pay staff; currently it is set at £7.38 per hour for under 25s and £7.83 for those over 25.
The Real Living Wage was independently calculated and the amount of £9.00 per hour was determined as the minimum amount that people need to get by, it was then adopted by the Government as a target minimum wage to be reached by 2020.
At Excel Vending, we accept the independent findings that suggest the higher amount of £9.00 per hour is the minimum needed to get by. However, we don’t accept that our staff should need to wait until 2020 when the Government will presumably make it a mandatory minimum hourly rate, we’ve decided to do it now. We are very proud to announce that everyone employed at Excel Vending will earn at least £9.00 per hour.
We have been working with Poverty Alliance Scotland and Living Wage Scotland to meet the criteria to be awarded accreditation as a Living Wage Employer. The accreditation enables us to use the Living Wage Employer mark which signifies that we have accepted our responsibility as an employer to pay what has been calculated as the Real Living Wage.
Speaking about the introduction of the Real Living Wage and our accreditation, Jane MacDonald, Managing Director at Excel Vending said: “I’m delighted to have met the criteria to be an accredited Living Wage Employer. We value everyone in the team at Excel Vending and we happily accept the independent findings that have put the real Living Wage above the rate determined by Government. The accreditation will highlight that we are a responsible employer and it will help us to attract good people into the business in the future, I would encourage all employers to explore the benefits of Living Wage Employer status.”
Whenever possible, we promote from within the business and many of our employees have worked their way from junior positions to senior management level, but regardless of the position, we value all hard-working employees and we trust the Living Wage Employer accreditation highlights this to our potential stars of the future.