Living Wage:
Employer
Survey 2016
An initiative from the Poverty Alliance, in partnership with Living Wage Foundation,
funded by the Scottish Government
Living Wage: Employer Survey 2016
Introduction
The Scottish Living Wage Accreditation Initiative issued
a survey to all accredited Living Wage employers in
Scotland in March 2016. The survey was issued to 432
accredited Living Wage employers and 158 employers
responded. This report is a summary of the findings of this
survey from the employers who responded.
The survey was anonymous, however information on the
size, sector and geographical location of the employers
who responded can be found in the appendix.
An initiative from the Poverty Alliance, in partnership with Living Wage Foundation, funded by the Scottish Government
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Living Wage: Employer Survey 2016
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Benefits to staff
The survey asked employers if any staff had provided feedback since the Living Wage
employer accreditation had been obtained. The feedback received on this question was
overwhelmingly positive, with no negative comments.
“Staff feel
more cared
for”.
“A large
number of staff
have personally
sent messages of
appreciation”.
“Most of our staff had
not really heard of the
Living Wage as such and were
extremely happy to receive a
wage review based on the new
rate. It did cost us approx. £15k
but feel it was worth the process
and has helped the affected
staff immeasurably”.
“New staff on part
time contracts have
said that it had made a
huge impact on their standard
of living. Staff have said they
are more willingly to work
flexibly because of the good
rate of pay that they
receive”.
“Staff who
did not receive a
pay increase have
commented that they
agree its the right
thing to do”.
“Gives
them comfort
and confidence
in us as
employers”.
“They feel
mainly, I believe
a greater sense of
worth”.
“An intern
said that it made
a huge difference
to her to be paid the
living wage vs the
minimum wage”.
“Staff are
proud to work for
an organisation
that is living wage
accredited”.
An initiative from the Poverty Alliance, in partnership with Living Wage Foundation, funded by the Scottish Government
Living Wage: Employer Survey 2016
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Business Impact
Some of the survey respondents indicated that it is too early to say what impact Living
Wage accreditation will have on the business.
For the 152 employers who said they have noticed an impact in terms of business
benefits, the following was reported:
67% of Living Wage employers agreed or strongly agreed that Living Wage
accreditation had a positive impact on staff retention
78% of Living Wage employers agreed or strongly agreed that Living Wage
accreditation had a positive impact on staff morale/ motivation
66% of Living Wage employers agreed or strongly agreed that Living Wage
accreditation had a positive impact on recruitment
55% of Living Wage employers agreed or strongly agreed that Living Wage
accreditation had a positive impact on productivity
93% of Living Wage employers agreed or strongly agreed that Living Wage
accreditation had a positive impact on company reputation
“We
have had 0%
staff turnover since
implementation. Staff speak
positively about the company
when they are outside work.
Everyone has cause to feel
proud to be part of Living
Wage”.
“Staff turnover has
dropped by c. 40% since
implementation of the Living
Wage. Satisfaction with pay
& working conditions rose by
around 50% in the staff survey
following implementation”.
An initiative from the Poverty Alliance, in partnership with Living Wage Foundation, funded by the Scottish Government
Living Wage: Employer Survey 2016
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Benefits of accreditation
Some of the survey respondents indicated that they already paid the Living Wage or
above prior to becoming an accredited Living Wage employer, but felt that accreditation
was important, both in terms of demonstrating an ongoing commitment to fair pay and
to company reputation in the eyes of existing and potential clients and employees:
“We already paid our
team members above Living
Wage so the greatest benefit to our
organisation is the perception of the
accreditation to our clients and potential
clients/employees. The accreditation still
has an impact on our existing employees
and demonstrates our commitment to
fair wages which is very, very difficult
for an architectural practice in the
last 5 years.”
“Living Wage
Accreditation has
allowed us to demonstrate
our commitment to rewarding
staff with a salary that is
worthy of the work that
they do”.
“Adds
credibility to
the firm’s CSR
policy”.
Some employers also noted positive impact on relationships with contractors and
contracted workers:
“Most of our staff are paid above the Living Wage so this hasn’t had a huge
impact. However we did ask the company who employ our cleaners to increase
their wages (at an increased cost), which had a positive impact on our relation
with them, and also which our own staff saw in a very positive light”.
An initiative from the Poverty Alliance, in partnership with Living Wage Foundation, funded by the Scottish Government
Living Wage: Employer Survey 2016
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Business changes
The survey asked whether the process of Living Wage employer accreditation lead to
considerations in changing other aspects of the business, such as staff shift patterns, use
of zero hours contracts, changing job roles or pay differentials.
Whilst the majority (61%) of Living Wage employers indicated that accreditation did not
lead to considering other changes within the business, there was evidence that becoming
a Living Wage employer did lead to changes amongst some employers.
The business changes considered by Living Wage employers as a
result of Living Wage employer accreditation
Business changes considered
Applying for other
other employer
recognition awards
Pay differentials
Changing job roles
Reducing the use of
zero hours contracts
Flexible working
policies/practices
Staff shift patterns
0% 5% 10% 15%20%25%
The largest consideration for respondents was pay differentials. One Living Wage
employer reported that differentials were markedly reduced and that in order to sustain
their commitment to the Living Wage it is likely that they will need to increase their
membership fees.
An initiative from the Poverty Alliance, in partnership with Living Wage Foundation, funded by the Scottish Government
Living Wage: Employer Survey 2016
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Promotion of Living Wage
Employer Accreditation
The most common way in which the survey respondents had heard about Living Wage
employer accreditation was via word of mouth (27%).
The other most common ways in which respondents indicated that they had heard about
Living Wage employer accreditation were the Living Wage website (13%), national press
(19%) and networking/ events (8%).
The least common ways in which respondents indicated that they had heard about
Living Wage employer accreditation were TV (2%) and local press (2%).
Almost 90% of respondents indicated that they have or intend to promote their
accreditation as a Living Wage employer.
“We use it
on our email
footers”.
“We use the
logo on our web
site, social media
and tenders for
work”.
“We have
the logo on
our headed paper,
website and displayed
at reception that we
are a Living Wage
Employer”.
“We use
it on our
letterhead
paper”
“We include
it on our
brochures and
website”.
“We use this
on recruitment
adverts plus our
stationary”.
An initiative from the Poverty Alliance, in partnership with Living Wage Foundation, funded by the Scottish Government
“We are
doing a press
release with the
Plaque and our
CEO”.
Living Wage: Employer Survey 2016
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Over 70% of respondents indicated that they have or intend to encourage other
employers to become accredited as Living Wage employers.
“I am a member
of local FSB and every
opportunity is a good
opportunity to discuss the wages
people pay their staff. I have no
hesitation to share with others how
loyal my team is and one of the
reasons for that is a good rate
of pay”.
“We
seek to only
give our business
to other accredited
Living Wage
employers”.
“We have written
to all our clients and
social media contacts
about considering
accreditation”.
“We are
trying to set an
example to local
employers”.
“We encourage
our suppliers to
consider joining”.
In some cases, respondents indicated that these efforts had led to other employers
considering the Living Wage and/ or becoming accredited as Living Wage employers.
“We encouraged other employers (i.e. our cleaning company) to become Living
Wage Employers and they have now amended their policy to tender for jobs
with the Living Wage instead of waiting for clients to ask for it”.
An initiative from the Poverty Alliance, in partnership with Living Wage Foundation, funded by the Scottish Government
Living Wage: Employer Survey 2016
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Service from the Scottish
Living Wage Accreditation
Initiative Team
66% of respondents rated the service received from the Scottish Living Wage
Accreditation Initiative as excellent.
28% of respondents rated the service received as good and 6% as OK. No respondents
rated the service received as not good or very poor.
However some respondents indicated that there had been a delay in receiving
communication from the team, suggesting that there is some room for improvement:
“There were some communication issues which led to a delay in our being
acknowledged then in receiving our plaque”.
“Better communication, there seemed to be a delay to start with”.
Appendix – Survey
Respondent Demographics
158 Living Wage employers responded to the survey. The following provides a summary
of the survey respondents, as well as total accredited Living Wage employers in
terms of employer size, sector and geographical location. This survey is considered a
representative sample of all accredited Living Wage employers in Scotland.
More detailed information, such as the range of industry types and local authority
regions, can be made available upon request.
An initiative from the Poverty Alliance, in partnership with Living Wage Foundation, funded by the Scottish Government
Living Wage: Employer Survey 2016
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Size of employer
Number of staff employed
Percentage of overall
survey responses
Percentage of overall accredited
Living Wage employers (including
survey non-responders)
1 – 10
31%
37%
11 – 50
45%
38%
51 – 250
15%
16%
251 – 500
3%
4%
501+6%
6%
5%
Sector
Percentage of overall
survey responses
Percentage of overall accredited
Living Wage employers (including
survey non-responders)
Public sector
15%
14%
Private sector
52%
58%
Third/ voluntary sector
33%
28%
Sector of employer
Geographical location of employer
(7 most common of 32 Local Authority regions)
Local Authority Region
Percentage of overall survey responses
Aberdeen
3%
East Ayrshire
3%
Edinburgh
25%
Fife
9%
Glasgow
20%
Highland
4%
Perth and Kinross
4%
South Lanarkshire
4%
Stirling
4%
West Lothian
3%
An initiative from the Poverty Alliance, in partnership with Living Wage Foundation, funded by the Scottish Government