Blog

Constructing Fairer Wages with QTS Contracts North

Blog by Colleen Wilkie at QTS Contracts As the only UK pay benchmark based on how much it actually costs to live, the real Living Wage is incredibly important. This is especially true in industries such as  construction  which face issues such as skills shortages, recruitment pressure and retention challenges. For example, the continued use of informal cash-in-hand arrangements and insecure zero-hours contracts found across … Read more

Why Getting Smaller Helped Us Grow Better

By Kat Brogan, Managing Director of Mercat Tours At our peak, Mercat Tours welcomed over 160,000 people in a single year at the Mercat Cross, Edinburgh – numbers that rival some global, five-star attractions. On paper, it looked like success. The reality was a different story. It was simply too many, too much. Behind the … Read more

Building a better future in hospitality

Written by Marlene Mamia Scotland is built on people. The people who welcome you, feed you, guide you, and create the experiences that make a place memorable. As an independent bakery and cafĂ©, TheDorkyFrench vegan bakery see this every single day — and it’s exactly why being a real Living Wage employer matters so much to us.  Running an independent bakery … Read more

What the real Living Wage can mean for your neurodivergent colleagues

Written by Leo Ould  At the latest Living Wage Scotland Awards, Passion4Social won the Employee Choice Award. As a small social enterprise, we were proud to see our employer recognised for implementing the scheme.  Being a real Living Wage Employer is how we put our company values into practice.  Neurodivergence, disability and employment  Many of our staff are disabled and/or neurodivergent. I have worked … Read more

It takes a village: Rebuilding the Filmhouse with the real Living Wage

Intro  As an arts organisation, we believe we have a responsibility to be a great place to work.   Filmhouse exists to champion the art of film, and to provide a safe and inclusive space for our community to meet, socialise, learn, and enjoy themselves. That ethos extends to everyone who works for and with us, … Read more

The Lines Between

no-brainer noun Informal; something that requires or involves little or no mental effort.  The earliest use of this hyphenated favourite dates back to 1950s’ California. However present-day Scotland offers an example of what a ‘no-brainer’ actually looks like.  We joined the Living Wage Campaign in the early years of The Lines Between. It was defined … Read more

Blog: How flexible working can help tackle poverty (and why we need more flex in low paid roles)

By Lisa Gallagher, co-founder and director of Flexibility Works  At first glance, flexible working might feel ‘off topic’ in a campaign week all about reducing poverty. But for many workers, especially those with caring responsibilities or health needs, the ability to flex work around their needs and responsibilities is essential. Flexible working can enable people … Read more