Children 1st has accredited as a Living Wage employer. Children 1st is a charity that protects children, keeps them safe, loved and well and together with their families by providing emotional, practical and financial support.
Their Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at Children 1st receive a minimum hourly wage of £12 per hour. This rate is higher than the government minimum for over 21s, which currently stands at £11.44 per hour.
Jennifer Allan, Director of People and Culture at Children 1st said:
“Children 1st is extremely proud to be an accredited real living wage employer.
“With the cost of living rising on what feels like a daily basis, we think it’s important to provide our staff with a rate of pay that can meet their needs.
“Paying our staff at least the real living wage is a testament to their hard work and dedication to keeping children safe, happy and together with their families.”
Lynn Anderson, Living Wage Scotland Manager said:
“We’re delighted that Children 1st have become an accredited Living Wage employer. They join a growing movement of over 3700 employers in Scotland who together want to ensure workers have what they need.
“Children 1st join other well-known charities such as ENABLE Scotland and SAMH and we hope to see many more follow their example.”
In Scotland, 91% of all jobs pay at least the real Living Wage, this is higher than any other UK nation. Despite this, nearly 1 in 10 jobs still pay less than the real Living Wage which equates to 221,000 jobs.
The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate calculated according to the costs of living. Employers choose to pay the real Living Wage on a voluntary basis, recognising the value of their workers and ensuring they have enough to cover basic living costs.
Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 64,000 people in Scotland and put over £485 million extra into the pockets of low paid Scottish workers.