OSCR celebrates Living Wage commitment
The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) is now an accredited Living Wage Employer. The move has been welcomed by the Poverty Alliance who deliver the Scottish Living Wage Accreditation Initiative in partnership with the Living Wage Foundation.
The Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at OSCR, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors; receive a real Living Wage of at least £8.45 per hour, which is significantly higher than government minimum wage of £6.70 and the new minimum wage premium for over 25s of £7.20 per hour introduced last April. Full time employees earning the real Living Wage earn £45 a week more than those on the government minimum.
The real Living Wage is an hourly rate, calculated annually by the Resolution Foundation and overseen by the Living Wage Commission, based on the best available evidence on living standards in the UK.
Employers choose to pay the real Living Wage on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage Foundation, The Poverty Alliance and the Scottish Living Wage Campaign believe that work should be the surest way out of poverty.
Jude Turbyne, OSCR Head of Engagement said,
“There are great benefits to paying the Living Wage. Last year we began looking into what we had to do to receive the accreditation and the organisation is delighted to now have it. We are in our tenth year as Scotland’s charity regulator and hope this demonstrates the faith we have in our hard working staff.
“We would also like to thank the Care Inspectorate, who employ the cleaning and security staff in OSCR’s Dundee office. Their work improving hourly rates for contractors helped us achieve the Living Wage Accreditation.”
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance said,
“We are delighted to congratulate OSCR on becoming a Living Wage employer. The Living Wage is a crucial step to allow those in work to become more included in society, better provide for their families, and feel that their value and hard work is recognised. My hope is that more organisations follow the lead of OSCR by becoming accredited, making a public commitment to their staff and the wider community they are a fair dealing employer”.
Lynn Anderson from the Poverty Alliance has wrote a blog for our site titled "Charities can lead from the front on Living Wage" which you can read here.
Media Contact
Living Wage
Carla McCormack, 0141 353 0440, carla.mccormack@povertyalliance.org
OSCR
Ian Grieve, ian.grieve@oscr.org.uk
Notes to Editors
The Living Wage in Scotland
Poverty Alliance is working in partnership with the Living Wage Foundation to accredit Living Wage employers in Scotland.
The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK. Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage enjoys cross party support, in both the Scottish and Westminster parliaments.
The UK Living Wage for outside of London is currently £8.45 per hour, and £9.75 in London. These figures are set by the Resolution Foundation and overseen by the independent Living Wage Commission.
The Living Wage Foundation and Poverty Alliance recognise and celebrate the leadership shown by Living Wage employers across the UK. In Scotland, the Scottish Living Wage Campaign works alongside The Living Wage Foundation and Poverty Alliance to raise awareness of issues around low pay and encourage businesses to accredit as Living Wage employers.
There are currently over 700 accredited employers in Scotland and over 3000 across the UK. The Living Wage Foundation is an initiative of Citizens UK.
The Living Wage Foundation, Poverty Alliance and the Scottish Living Wage Campaign believe that work should be the surest way out of poverty.
What about the Government’s national living wage?
In July 2015 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the UK Government would introduce a compulsory ‘national living wage’. This new government rate is a minimum wage premium rate for staff over 25 years old. It was introduced in April 2016 and the rate is £7.20 per hour. The rate is separate to the Living Wage rate calculated by the Living Wage Foundation. The government rate is based on median earnings while the Living Wage Foundation rate is calculated according to the cost of living.