What it means to be a Local Living Wage employer
Key benefits and advantages for employers
By leading the way and becoming a Local Living Wage employer you are signing up to reduce poverty, boost the local economy and make life better in west Cheshire.
Not only that, but paying the Local Living Wage has also proven to be great for business.
Employers that pay a Local Living Wage report:
- Lower absenteeism and lower staff turnover
- Higher productivity and improvements in the quality of work of staff
- Greater motivation and morale
- Stronger recruitment
- A way to stand out from competitors
- Increased consumer awareness of their commitment to be an ethical employer
These findings are reported by the Living Wage Foundation.
Businesses who sign up to the Local Living Wage will receive:
- advice and resources to use the LLW charter mark
- free enhanced business advice
Key benefits and advantages for employees
People, no matter what they do or how educated they are, deserve to be able to feed themselves, find and maintain adequate shelter, and take care of themselves with their wages.
The aim of the Local Living Wage is that no one should have to do a day's work for less than they can live on. The Local Living Wage accreditation intends to recognise the dignity of work and the importance for individuals, families and society of people being able to earn a wage which provides an acceptable standard of living.
West Cheshire is often thought of as being an affluent, green and leafy area for people to live in. However, this does not represent the entirety of the borough and there are some locations that don’t enjoy the affluence often associated with the area. 16 per cent of households in the borough have an annual income of £15,000 or less, which is similar to the number of UK households having an income of £15,000 or less at 17 percent.
While some of these households may not be impacted by a change to wage rates, like pensioners or self-employed people, for example, it is estimated that there is still a large proportion of these low income households that would benefit from the local living wage.