Smith Goodfellow has been accredited as a Living Wage Employer. Our Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at Smith Goodfellow receive a minimum hourly wage of £12.00, in line with the latest real living wage calculations, higher than the government minimum for over 23s, which currently stands at £10.42 per hour (set to rise to £11.44 this year).
Smith Goodfellow is based in the Northwest, where 12.5% of all jobs pay less than the real Living Wage – around 367,000 jobs. Despite this, Smith Goodfellow has committed to paying the real Living Wage and delivering a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.
The real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to the costs of living. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their staff earn a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum. Since 2011, the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 450,000 people and put over £2 billion extra into the pockets of low paid workers.
Cathy Barlow, Managing Director of Smith Goodfellow, said: “At Smith Goodfellow, we have always recognised the importance of empowering others through our business practices, and we are incredibly proud to be joining a growing movement of employers who acknowledge the genuine cost of living in the UK. We have always committed to paying our employees fairly for the hard work they undertake. We value all members of our team greatly and are delighted to share that we are an accredited Living Wage Employer.”
Katherine Chapman, Director of Living Wage Foundation, said: “We’re delighted that Smith Goodfellow has joined the movement of over 12,000 responsible employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on.
“They join thousands of small businesses, as well as household names such as Burberry, Barclays, Everton Football Club and many more. These businesses recognise that paying the real Living Wage is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like Smith Goodfellow, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.”