Fair Hours & Contracts Archives - Good Business Charter

Silver Birch Care: Ensuring employee well-being and retention through responsible use of zero-hours contracts

Harriet Gilholm — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 13:03:23 +0000

7th February, 2025

Silver Birch Care, a supported living provider for young people across the UK, is an early adopter of the Good Business Charter, having accredited just six days after its launch in February 2020. They are part of  Silver Birch Care (Holdings) Limited, now also accredited, incorporating its four other care providers and employing over 400 employees in total.  We recently spoke with Abs Latif, Group Head of HR & Payroll, to discuss the Fair Hours and Contracts component of the Charter and how Silver Birch Care employs zero-hours contracts in a fair and transparent manner to ensure the highest standards of care for the young people they support, as well as the well-being of their employees.

Why are zero hours contracts necessary for your services?

“Our referrals come from local authorities and our numbers fluctuate, so to maintain our services, Silver Birch Care currently employ 127 people, 11 of whom are bank staff on zero-hours contracts. These contracts allow us to meet the required level of support for the young people and ensure that minimum staffing levels are always maintained. We need cover when staff are unwell or on annual leave. Additionally, when we receive new referrals, there is an incident at one of our homes, or a young person’s needs increase, we require an immediate boost in staffing levels. Having dedicated, experienced bank staff is crucial in limiting our reliance on agency staff.”

How do you schedule shifts and manage cancellations?

“We schedule all our shifts four weeks in advance, using a system called Planday. All employee shifts are visible on this system, including open shifts where cover is needed. Zero-hours contract staff can request these shifts, providing them with ample notice to plan their schedules. Because we value our zero-hours staff, we always ensure there are enough open shifts to meet their desired working hours. Due to the nature of our work, shifts are rarely cancelled, but if something does change, we arrange alternative shifts in agreement with the staff member. If this is not possible, we would pay for the cancelled shift.

“There are no penalties for turning down shifts, although we are transparent in our contracts, stating that if three shifts are turned down or an employee has not worked for more than three months, we may end their contract. However, we would discuss this with employees and where circumstances have prevented the uptake of shifts and they would still like to work for us, we look at their availability so they can continue to work.”

How do you ensure that this contract type suits the employee?

“During the recruitment and onboarding of bank staff, we are very clear of the requirements, discussing our work practices and expectations. We encourage staff to communicate their needs regarding working hours and patterns from the outset, so we can ensure we can meet these.”

“All staff on zero-hours contracts have the same reviews and support as those with contracted hours. They have six-weekly supervisions and an annual review, during which we discuss whether the contract terms still suit their needs. If a staff member wishes to switch to a fixed-hours contract, we facilitate this as soon as possible. In addition, some of our zero-hour staff have transitioned from full-time roles due to a change in their personal circumstances and they feel that they are better served in the zero-hours role.”

How do you ensure these employees are looked after?

“All staff receive the same induction training and have access to the same ongoing training and development opportunities. All our employees on zero hours contracts have the same rates of pay and benefits as our full and part time contracted hours staff; this is written in to their contracts.

“For example, they are entitled to the same annual leave and sick pay arrangements and are made familiar with all our policies and procedures. They are also invited to join our Employee Forum, ensuring their voices are heard. We offer all staff access to our round-the-clock Wellbeing Services, which include a GP service, counselling and discounted shopping schemes. They are eligible for our Employee of the Month scheme, Long Service Awards, and receive a day off each year for their birthday. As with all staff, we ensure they understand their rights and the benefits they’re entitled to.”

When reviewing use of these contracts, what are your measures of success?

“We have had employees working on zero-hours contracts for many years. For instance, one woman has worked every other weekend for six years while raising a family, and another has taken extended breaks for religious reasons for over five years. Many employees have transitioned from zero-hours contracts to fixed-hours contracts—ten in the last eighteen months—and some have moved into senior roles within the company. This clearly demonstrates that development and career opportunities are equal for all employees. At the same time, a few employees have requested to move from fixed-hours contracts to zero-hours contracts to accommodate changes in their personal circumstances. We are pleased to work with our employees to ensure their contracts meet their needs, allowing us to retain their valuable experience.”

Inspiring ethical employment practices

We are incredibly inspired by the commitment of our GBC-accredited organisations who demonstrate their dedication to fair employment practices with such clarity, transparency and integrity. These organisations not only understand the significance of ethical employment—ensuring fairness and support for all staff, including those on zero-hours contracts—but they have also taken meaningful steps to communicate this commitment to their employees.

Abs Latif, Group Head of HR & Payroll at Silver Birch Care, encapsulates this ethos:

“The quality and continuity of care for our young people is our highest priority, and our zero-hours employees are essential in helping us achieve this. We value them all and could not run our services without the support, dedication, and flexibility of our zero-hours contracted employees.”

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Joseph Rowntree Foundation: In-work poverty – why fair pay and secure hours matter

Harriet Gilholm — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 15:26:04 +0000

7th February, 2025

Last week, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) launched it’s yearly flagship report on the nature of poverty in the UK. It’s unacceptable that 14.3 million people are living in poverty in the UK, including 4.3 million children. While being in work is a protective factor against being in poverty, two-thirds of working-age adults in poverty are in a household where at least one adult works. Work alone is not a route out of poverty – the quality of that work really matters.

The impact of low pay and insecure work

The risk of experiencing poverty depends on the type of job you do, as rates of poverty vary according to different sectors. While the average poverty rate for workers is 12% across all employment sectors, accommodation and food services (23%), administrative and support service activities (21%) and agriculture, forestry and fishing (21%) all have significantly higher poverty rates than the average.

The Work Foundation have estimated that 6.8 million people in the UK were in severely insecure work in 2023 and that work is becoming less secure. Insecure work means not knowing what you’ll be paid week to week or when you will be working, making it impossible to plan ahead and making it much harder to budget for childcare or transport. Insecure work is often compounded by a low hourly rate, in some cases even falling below the National Living Wage, as some employers still evade enforcement.

Business, government and trade unions all have a role to play in delivering good jobs which have fair pay and secure and predictable hours. Good jobs must be an essential part of doing business. Good businesses, doing the right thing, need a level playing field.

Raising the bar: Living Wage Foundation

Delivery on fair pay is an essential part of tackling in-work poverty. The Living Wage movement is delivering a pay rise for nearly half a million employees across the country, with employers accrediting with it committing to pay £12.60 an hour outside London and £13.35 in London. The real Living Wage calculation is rooted in the Minimum Income Standard, a measure of the minimum socially acceptable income standard people need. 15,000 employers are now accredited, across a wide range of sectors, doing the right thing by their workers and demonstrating that good business does not mean low pay. Crucially, Living Wage accreditation also includes business supply chains. For some businesses, it is people in their supply chains such as cleaners or caterers who are on the lowest pay. Being a good business involves not just thinking about pay for your direct employees but those that are outsourced too. New research from JRF, due to be published this spring, will highlight the experiences of the UK’s outsourced workers – including problems with job quality, and the importance of targeting “good work” interventions at outsourced work.

As well as fair pay, workers need fair hours too – meaning hours that offer essential security and predictability. More secure work means a right to a contract which reflects your typical working hours, getting good notice of shifts so you can budget and make those plans for your life outside work, and being paid even if shifts are cancelled at the last minute – so you’re not left out of pocket due to scheduling changes. Over 200 employers are now going further than the Living Wage Foundation accreditation and committing to pay Living Hours accreditation too.

Government’s role in tackling insecure work

Alongside business, the government has a fundamental role to play in driving up employment standards including on pay and hours. The new Employment Rights Bill explicitly aims to tackle one-sided flexibility which underpins insecure work. New rights Government intends to implement include introducing guaranteed hours contracts, reasonable notice of shifts and compensation for short-notice cancellation of shifts. These new obligations on employers will hopefully level the playing field for businesses already doing the right thing and mean more security for workers – although many workers will remain at risk in low-paid, insecure self-employed jobs.

The new uplift to the National Living Wage will also see a welcome increase in pay for nearly 3 million of the lowest-paid workers. These new policies from the world of work are really important for change, but we need to remember that working households in poverty also require more support via the social security system and access to good quality, affordable housing too.

Fair pay and hours: a pillar of responsible business

Fair Pay and Hours for workers are a fundamental foundation for the responsible business practice celebrated in Good Business Charter’s Good Business Fortnight and it’s really positive to be able to recognise the role business and all employers play in tackling poverty.

For more guidance on supporting employees through the cost-of-living crisis, check out JRF’s employer guide: Employers and the cost of living | Joseph Rowntree Foundation

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Straight-talking on zero-hours contracts

Jenny Herrera — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 09:02:45 +0000

14th November, 2024

By Jenny Herrera, CEO of the Good Business Charter

For the final part of our Autumn blog series on workers’ rights, we’re addressing zero-hours contracts (ZHCs) and why the Good Business Charter supports efforts to end exploitative practices in these arrangements. While ZHCs are often defended for their flexibility, a closer look reveals a troubling reality for many workers.

Do workers really want zero-hours contracts?

It would be good to start by demystifying the much-stated comment that ‘most people want these’ because they like the flexibility ZHCs offer given they can turn down shifts they do not want to do.

Yet a poll of zero-hours contract workers conducted by the TUC in August of this year revealed that over 8 in 10 (84%) want regular hours of work, compared to just 1 in 7 (14%) who don’t.

Those in favour of ZHCs often reference groups like students and retired people who are happy to take the occasional shift on this basis. It can feel easy to trot these examples out, but actually if a retired person is doing some of these jobs, like events which require a lot of time on their feet, it is probably done because they need the work.

Similarly, if we make the assumption that students are happy to be at a company’s beck and call for shifts, and as easily dropped if not needed, it suggests a lack of respect and dignity for them. It they have committed to a shift, they may well have said no to other commitments as a result. Suddenly cancelling a shift without any pay may leave them missing out twice because of what they said no to.

Our position on fairer hours contracts

When the Good Business Charter was formed, the issue of secure work was a hot topic with a lot of back-and-forth on what was reasonable in this area of zero-hours and minimal hours contracts. In the end we settled on a position of needing to give 2 weeks’ notice of shifts and to pay those shifts in full if cancelled within 2 weeks. In addition, each year there should be an annual review with the worker to see if they could be brought onto a fixed hours contract based on their work in the last year.

The government’s proposals reduce this one-year period to 12 weeks, helping bring security in quickly. They are currently consulting on issues around payment for shift cancellation. It is worth noting that the Living Wage Foundation sets a higher bar of 4 weeks for their Living Hours accreditation. They have done a lot of work highlighting the double issues surrounding low pay and insecure work, stating that:

More than half (55 per cent) of low paid workers earning below the Living Wage are in insecure work (3.4m workers in total), compared to 11 per cent of those earning at or above the Living Wage (2.7m in total). This makes low paid workers around five times more likely to be in insecure jobs than those paid above the Living Wage.  

Why fairer hours matter

We champion responsible business behaviour and we want to see a country where people are valued. The nation is struggling with productivity and there is no doubt in our mind that if people have secure work that pays enough to live on, alongside genuine employee wellbeing, an inclusive workplace and one where they have a voice, the structure is in place for employees to be productive.

Our focus when talking about fairer hours is those struggling to make ends meet whilst guessing how much they’ll earn each month. On top of that they may arrange childcare and find a shift cancelled but be unable to cancel the childcare, thus having to still pay the childcare provision and ending up out of pocket. Many on ZHCs struggle to get a rental contract or mortgage because of the lack of guaranteed fixed hours.

Aside from these practical issues, there is at work a terrible power imbalance where workers can be begging for shifts – McDonalds a recent example of this at play – and many are fearful of taking annual leave or being unwell in case they cannot pick up shifts afterwards because of it. This is not how responsible businesses should behave towards people they are dependent on their business for. After all, without people, there is no viable, functioning business.

The future of fairer hours

We welcome the Employment Rights Bill and its approach to bringing an end to exploitative zero-hours contracts. To businesses citing all those who like such contracts I would say that is not backed up by the reality of those on the lowest pay. High-paid people doing a bit of extra work are clearly not the focus of this legislation – the flexibility of hours suits them as much as the company and they don’t get a huge financial blow if the work suddenly doesn’t materialise (indeed they may have insurance in place to cover this).

We appreciate businesses feel they need the flexibility of ZHCs but they must accept that is at the expense of the individuals involved – and not just because of the issues they experience with uncertainty of work and therefore income, but also those same individuals often find themselves isolated from the business’ general policies on wellbeing, employee voice, etc. Too often they are treated like a second tier of worker – seen as ‘just casual’ or ‘not core’ thus adding to that sense of vulnerability.

As the government consults on its approach, we would suggest if banning zero-hours contracts altogether is too difficult, it might utilise our fairer hours approach – something that has been agreed by business and worker groups alike. 2 weeks’ notice of shifts and paying a shift if cancelled within 2 weeks ensures businesses think carefully about who they actually need and respect the lives and finances of their employees. The idea of a discussion after a set period of time to then offer guaranteed hours is to recognise a reality and give the worker security. That shouldn’t cause undue problems for businesses, or not for responsible, people-first businesses at any rate.

Keep up to date with our Autumn blog series!

Read our full blog series here

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The power imbalance that can crush individuals

Harriet Gilholm — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 13:32:25 +0000

15th October, 2024

By Jenny Herrera, CEO of the Good Business Charter

Imagine this: you’re sitting at your desk, in the middle of your workday, when suddenly you receive a meeting request. It’s a Zoom call, brief and cold. No warning, no indication of what’s to come. Within minutes, you’re told that your job no longer exists. No reason given, no chance to discuss it. You’re instructed not to contact your colleagues and barred from entering the office again. It’s like your years of service are wiped out in the span of 10 minutes. This happened to someone I know, and I’m certain it’s happening to many more.

The reality is that employment, unlike most relationships, holds a stark power imbalance. When we think of a job, we often imagine it as a relationship between two parties. But it’s not between two people—it’s between a single individual and a faceless corporation. The individual signs a contract with the business, and when that contract is ended, the decision often comes down not from a person but from a cold, impersonal entity. And it’s this inherent imbalance that leaves workers feeling helpless, especially when employment decisions are made without transparency or empathy.

The disconnection of larger corporations

Nowhere is this power imbalance more evident than in the larger businesses where those employment decisions are being fronted by a distant HR department, that might even be housed in a different building or location than the individual employee. Small business owners know their employees by name and know something of their lives. In contrast, a big business’s HR department can easily see their workforce as merely names, or worse still, numbers.

So, government proposals to look at legislating against ‘fire and rehire’ and giving rights to an employee from the start of their employment rather than waiting for two years first, are a welcome protection for workers but above all, there is a need to keep the human element at the forefront.

The Real Impact on Employees

The recent rise in redundancy numbers paints a troubling picture. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK redundancy rate increased to 4.6 per thousand people in early 2024, the highest since 2021. Between November 2023 and January 2024, 133,000 redundancies were made in the UK, up from 116,000 in the previous quarter. While many of these decisions may have followed legal protocols, the emotional toll on individuals is often overlooked.

The sense of being disposable and worthless

Life is uncertain but when we are in a permanent job, we operate with a certain level of stability in our lives. Salary comes in, expenses go out, there is a regularity to our weeks and a huge chunk of our time filled with our employment.

A sudden redundancy just before Christmas without any acknowledgement of the impact of that on finances as well as general wellbeing is something we should not be seeing in 21st century Britain. It is hard to put into words the impact on someone’s self-esteem with the added harm caused of almost treating someone like a criminal – they can’t enter the premises, they can’t talk to colleagues. Is it any surprise someone in this situation wonders what they have done wrong?

The terrible cycle of last in, first out

Businesses do need to make redundancies from time to time, even good ones. Yet, when it is made by a faceless corporation, bypassing the consulting period set out in law, individual people become numbers and too often the decision is made as to who is cheapest to make redundant. Usually those who have been with the company for the shortest amount of time, with the added benefit to the company that they also won’t be able to claim for unfair dismissal if they have been in post less than two years (rights to claim for unfair dismissal from day one are part of the proposals for the Employment Rights Bill).

I know someone who was made redundant three times in around seven years – I imagine there are many caught in this cycle, not because they are bad at their job but because they are the newest employee in the company. Yet this can be soul-destroying and will impact on a person’s physical and mental health which of course brings added pressure to the struggling NHS.

As you enter a new workplace you carry a pervading sense of worry that it may happen again, further impacting on health and wellbeing.

The crushing sense of powerlessness

The individual is left on the outside, forbidden from making contact, instructed what to do in order to receive any compensation – and to do it within a very short period of time. They are not experts in employment law so must be guided by others, usually people they have never met before, to explain the infamous non-disclosure agreement.

With 1 in 3 of the poorest fifth of households in the UK holding less than £250 in savings, those on the lowest wages cannot afford to take a stand on the matter and therefore it becomes Hobson’s Choice whether they sign the NDA or not – and once signed they cannot tell of their horrible experience. The powerful corporation closes ranks and moves on, untainted and unimpacted by its behaviour.

Even if an individual felt minded to take them to the tribunal, the wait is 12-18 months long and is likely to require huge investment of time and energy to fight, up against the well-resourced corporation. You only have to follow the Post Office Horizon saga to know that is true. Very few have the resolve and determination of Alan Bates.

We wait to see what the Single Enforcement Body can offer in this space. In 2021 BEIS stated: “this body will not just protect workers, it will also help to provide a level playing field for the majority of employers who respect the law, and who also lose out when unscrupulous businesses cut corners and exploit workers”. That would be very welcome.

The solution – people culture

The reality is that even with the planned legislative changes individuals will still experience unexplained redundancy without proper processes. The P&O situation (where the whole UK team was fired and replaced with cheaper workers from overseas) may not be repeated but I believe individuals will continue to find themselves silenced and paid off by powerful companies unless there is a real groundswell of culture change that really champions people.

Where all employees truly have a voice in the workplace and feel included, where the whole culture of the organisation is to be intentional about people’s wellbeing, where the people leading a company recognise they are only as good as their workforce, things will be different. They will be different because the whole way redundancies are approached will be with people in mind, where foremost in the mind of the HR manager or line manager running difficult meetings will be how to ensure the person across the room is cared for appropriately. Where the maxim ‘do to others as you would have done to you’ is at work.

That is not to say good businesses won’t need to make people redundant, or dismiss those who are not fulfilling their employment contract. But when these things are dealt with properly, above board, guided by expert organisations such as ACAS and CIPD, and transparent with everyone in the workforce, everyone will come out of the situation better, both the individual – given time to process the information and understand why them and given appropriate support, care and an apology – and the rest of the team left behind who are given chance to say farewell but also know if it ever came to be them one day, they would be treated with dignity and respect.

I wonder if our struggle for productivity in this nation has anything to do with workforces who have lost respect for how their company deals with them as people, and now content themselves with doing the bare minimum in the workplace. I know I would find it hard to be motivated if I saw a colleague suddenly ushered out the door without any notice nor sense of compassion.

Keep up to date with our Autumn blog series!

Read our first blog on sick pay here

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Case study: Empowering change through fair pay

Harriet Gilholm — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 08:25:34 +0000

Promoting fair pay within organisations is paramount for fostering equity and respect among employees. One crucial aspect of this endeavour is ensuring that employees receive the real living wage (RLW), as set out by the Living Wage Foundation, individuals earning below this threshold struggle to afford basic necessities.

While transitioning to the real living wage may entail short-term costs, the long-term benefits are significant, employee retention and reducing recruitment costs are among the advantages. We spoke to some of our accredited organisations to find out how paying the real living wage has helped their business and employees.

Aspire Community Works is a campaigning and community business that provides estates management and open spaces services to local communities.

Aspire Community Works are Real Living Wage employer advocates, why is it important that people are paid the real living wage?

“Aspire’s mission is to provide sustainable and high quality employment for people who have been disadvantaged by the labour market for a number of reasons. We do not think those who have suffered disadvantage should be doubly disadvantaged by low pay and poor working conditions, as too often happens.”

“Since we started our frontline business in 2010, the payment of the RLW has been an essential part of treating our employees well, along with treating them with respect and providing them with decent working conditions and the room to develop their skills. By doing the best we can for our workers, we are rewarded by them doing the best that they can to build our business with lower rates of staff turnover and high levels of morale and commitment.”

Katharine Sutton, Director

Aspire Community Works campaigns for better work opportunities, can you share some of the work you have done and the impact it has had?

“We set up our #BetterForUs campaign in 2020 run by Aspire on behalf of our employees with the support of Trust for London. The campaign is aimed at working with public and private sector organisations to encourage them to use their purchasing power to deliver RLW and good jobs, particularly in the everyday economy. In essence, we want to see good procurement demonstrated throughout the supply chains of the public and private sectors. We are asking all organisations to sign up to our five point pledge for respect, decent wages, sustainable procurement, good work and employee voice.”

Katharine Sutton, Director

Avorium is a siblings-run business based in York selling matching desk accessories and stationery that can be personalised on the spot.

What benefits has Avorium had from paying its staff the real living wage?

“By paying our employees the RLW, we have found their motivation to provide a great customer experience is elevated, as well as their passion and excitement to work for our business. It has also improved our employee retention and the number of job applications we get.”

Tom Calvert, Director

What would you say to other small businesses in retail that are worried that they can’t afford to pay the real living wage?

“While at first we were unsure whether we could afford the increase in staff pay, we have found that the increase in dedication and passion has returned a net positive impact on the business. Our business-wide sales our higher since we made this change, and Avorium seems to have a strong team that all love to be here!”

Tom Calvert, Director

Boo Coaching & Consulting provide world class executive coaching and learning solutions by taking cutting-edge research and translating it into a delivery style which is engaging, participatory and above all fun.

Boo Coaching and Consulting has been an accredited real living wage organisation since 2016. Why was becoming a RLW accredited organisation so important to you?

“To put it simply, it fits with our values and it’s the right thing to do. Fair pay really matters, it is fundamental to workplace wellbeing, something at the heart of all we do.”

“We want our team to not only be able to cover their bills, but to have funds left over to use in the pursuit of joy. Only then they can be happy and healthy at work and be at their best for themselves, their families and our customers.”

Amy Rothwell, Happiness Ambassador

In 2021 you won a Real Living Wage Champion award – can you share details of things you’ve done to champion the RLW and any impacts you’ve noticed?

“It’s difficult to condense our enthusiasm for the Real Living Wage Movement into a paragraph or two! We won the Champion Award in 2021 and in 2023 we won the Living Wage Week photo competition for our series of ‘Living Wage Mermaids’ photos. Other things we’ve done include getting up at dawn to take sunrise photos of the Living Wage sign in local beauty spots – to make a ‘treasure hunt’ highlighting that Bolton deserves far pay, we’ve made ‘Living Wage Week – the Movie’, we’ve organised local events and webinars.”

“We sponsored the Living Wage Health & Social Care Award and we try to keep the conversation going, our aim is to create a talking point around the things that matter to us. Although we are a small organisation, we hope our efforts and our collaborative events spark dialogue, influence behaviours, and encourage others who trust us to do all they can to be fair and responsible employers, and work towards Living Wage accreditation.”

Amy Rothwell, Happiness Ambassador

Seniors Helping Seniors® provides care for the elderly who need help to live at home. Care is provided exclusively by senior people with care experience and their services bridge the gap between family, state-provided or charity care on a ‘what matters’ basis to self-funders.

You are champions of the Real Living Wage for the care sector, and you credit your company’s success to paying people well. Can you share some of the benefits you’ve seen in your business and across the sector?

“Seniors Helping Seniors was honoured to win the Living Wage Champion Awards ‘against all odds’ award. The champion award is a prestigious prize and we won for “setting a new standard for employee welfare within the traditionally lower-paying Care sector”.

“From a corporate point of view, I believe we are the only care company who has no issues finding the right carers. Other care companies who have followed our lead on pay, show improved employment results. We understand what our employees want and need. We developed our robust People Strategy in 2022 and we are committed to it.”

“The culture of a care company has never ever been more important to success. The way to build culture is by understanding what employees want and need. It starts with their wage, but pay is only the beginning. We developed our robust People Strategy in 2022 and this is the key to our organisation’s success. The strategy helps us deliver on the principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and it includes pay, wellbeing and coaching with The Sustainable Life Coach.“

Sally Wilse, Co-Owner

How have you overcome the challenges you have faced championing the real living wage in a sector that still has high levels of low pay?

“When the Government announced the new living wage in October 2023, it was a huge hike, more than we expected. The Living Wage Foundation then announced the RLW the following day and it was even higher!”

“After this, we got our business owners together to strategize and we listened carefully because pay impacts everything. We went public with the statement that we would be raising wages to the RLW by April 2024 (one month earlier than the deadline) and we made that announcement in the same week the RLW levels were announced to lead from the front. We also offered advice to every care company who doubted the reasoning.”

Sally Wilse, Co-Owner

Feeling inspired?

We are incredibly inspired by the dedication of the accredited organisations featured in this blog, championing the Real Living Wage (RLW) and embodying the principles of fair pay. These organisations have not only recognised the importance of paying employees fairly but have also taken concrete steps to prioritise the well-being and empowerment of their workforce.

If you are feeling inspired by these organisations, visit our other component pages to see how organisations are embedding the other nine components and see how you can make similar actions!

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The all-important S – and Fair Pay!

Jenny Herrera — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 09:57:32 +0000

5th February, 2024

By Jenny Herrera, CEO of the Good Business Charter.

Many companies talk about being sustainable and when you ask them what they do, they will relay a wonderful list of the different ways they are minimising their impact on the planet – and it is truly amazing to hear of the innovation at work. We all know time is running out and growth must be environmentally sustainable.

Yet, what about the S in ESG? Ask a company how they are being socially responsible and the list might shrink a little. Often it can go into specifics around inclusion or mental health wellbeing – both of which are extremely important and part of the Good Business Charter’s 10 components.

But what about fair pay?

We hear businesses tell us they simply cannot afford to pay the real living wage (even though it is less than £1 an hour more than the national minimum). Recent high-profile cases have not helped this narrative with Brewdog saying they cannot continue to pay the real living wage and still make a profit, and we were saddened by Capita’s recent decision not to uplift salaries to £12 an hour which meant we had to revoke their accreditation.

This was an immediate decision for us because we have a clear red line here. Good Business Charter accreditation requires payment of the real living wage to all employees in line with the Living Wage Foundation’s criteria. Ask some of the nation’s most sustainable, ‘purpose-led’ companies if they are committed to the real living wage and you may be surprised at the answer you get. Companies that are applauded for their ethical stance are not necessarily paying the real living wage.

Why does this matter?

For me it is a question of your starting point. We start not with the business but with the individual people, especially young people who are so often the ones on low pay and insecure work. 54% of people in poverty are in a household where at least one adult is in work. A staggering 71% of children in poverty live in a working family.

If a person is working full-time, they should receive enough money to be able to afford the basics in the UK. That is a challenge in the current economic climate – but that is not the individual person’s fault. The real living wage is calculated on the actual costs of living in the UK and to expect someone to work for a company, making profits for shareholders or owners, whilst unable to afford the basics in life cannot be ethically sound. No matter how much you are doing for the planet … And if a business says they can’t pay it and still make a profit, I would argue that perhaps their business model is therefore wrong.

I wonder how someone on a low wage feels when they hear all that the company they work for is doing to be sustainable? While they spend the day working under a cloud of worry about how they will make ends meet that month? Where they may be at real risk of homelessness because of the challenges around the costs they face.

We believe good businesses pay a fair wage and we kick off Good Business Week proud of our clear stance on this. We recognise that for some sectors real living wage feels particularly challenging – but having been founded by a retailer, and also accrediting companies operating in other sectors like care – we believe where there is a will, there is a way.

I have seen the impact of in-work poverty through another charity I run – where people come to us for help to repair their car so they can keep their low paid job, or replace an appliance because their salary only covers the basics without any room to save.

If we want our workforce to give their best in their work, if we want to retain them, it is not enough to ensure they have a voice, they feel included and their wellbeing is cared for. They need to be paid enough to live on – and ultimately if they are not, how can they really feel like they experience employee wellbeing?

Good Business Charter accreditation sends a clear signal – accredited organisations must meet all 10 components not pick and choose a sample. That makes it a high bar – and one worth reaching for as many cannot attain it. Indeed, an estimated 3.5 million UK jobs are currently paid below the real living wage.

Why not ask your employer or the companies you buy from why they are not GBC accredited? It may well be because they don’t pay the real living wage – and therefore know they are excluded. It is a choice – and we are thrilled that over 14,000 organisations have chosen to be Living Wage Employers. If you are one of them, you have already overcome a big hurdle to achieve Good Business Charter accreditation – take a look at our other nine components and see if you are eligible to apply.

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