Scottish Borders based ERIBÉ knitwear has been accredited as a Living Wage employer. Their Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at ERIBÉ 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.
Established in 1986, ERIBÉ is an award-winning knitwear design house and manufacturer headquartered in Melrose in the Scottish Borders. ERIBÉ take an ethical and sustainable approach, adopting slow fashion processes, and using only 100% natural wool yarn in their contemporary knitwear pieces.
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 that a hard day’s work receives a fair day’s pay. 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.
Commenting on their reasons for seeking accreditation and their feelings on the achievement, Alison Low, Managing Director at ERIBÉ said:
“The ERIBÉ ethos is about caring for all our colleagues’ customers suppliers and agents. It is the team together that make ERIBÉ the success that it is. We recognise that the reward package for colleagues is vitally important, so we are delighted to become a Living Wage employer. It was a huge step for the business but absolutely the right thing to do. In 2024 moving to Living Wage was a priority for us and part of an enhanced package of rewards that we now offer the team.”
To celebrate their accreditation, ERIBÉ was visited by the co-chairs of the Scottish Borders Living Wage Region Action group; Seonaid Mann of SOSE and Cllr Robin Tatler of Scottish Borders Council.
The action group aims to increase the number of accredited Living Wage employers across the region, their work ensures more staff across the region will receive an uplift to the real Living Wage.
Seonaid Mann, Fair Work and Equalities Manager from South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) and co-chair of the Scottish Borders Living Wage Region Action group said:
“It’s great news that another business in the South of Scotland has recognised the importance and benefits of becoming an Accredited Living Wage employer. At SOSE, one of our key priorities is to advocate for Fair Work and Equality across the South of Scotland. Paying the real living wage combined with embedding the other dimensions of Fair Work into the workplace, is simply good for business and results in a thriving workplace culture.”
Peter Kelly, Director of The Poverty Alliance said:
“We all need an income that is enough to cover our needs and protect us from poverty, and it’s only right that employers pay a wage that reflects the cost of living. Too many workers in Scotland are paid less than the real Living Wage and, at a time of rising costs, are struggling to stay afloat. The real Living Wage can offer protection from those rising costs.”
“Congratulations to ERIBÉ on their Living Wage commitment, and I hope more organisations follow their lead by becoming Living Wage accredited.”
Lynn Anderson, Living Wage Scotland Manager said:
“We’re delighted that ERIBÉ has become an accredited Living Wage employer. They join a growing movement of over 3600 employers in Scotland who together want to ensure workers have what they need.
Their commitment is a fantastic addition to the growing number of employers across the Scottish Borders region who have joined the movement to ensure more workers in the region can earn at least the real Living Wage. We hope to see many more follow their example.”