CHAS has been accredited as a real Living Wage employer

A Scottish charity has been recognised for its commitment to paying its staff fairly.

Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) has been accredited as a real Living Wage employer.

The commitment will see everyone working at CHAS receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.90 per hour. This new Living Wage rate was announced on Monday 15 November as part of Living Wage Week. This rate is significantly higher than the government minimum for over 23s, which currently stands at £8.91 per hour.

The real Living Wage rate this year has largely been driven by sharply rising fuel and rent costs. The real Living Wage is different to the government minimum wage for over 23s, called the National Living Wage (NLW). While the real Living Wage is independently calculated based on living costs and is paid by employers voluntarily, the government’s NLW is based on a percentage of median earnings, and all employers are required to pay it.

This announcement comes during Living Wage week (15-19 November), an annual celebration of the real Living Wage in the UK.

In Scotland, more than 14% of all jobs pay less than the real Living Wage - around 330,000 jobs. Despite this, CHAS has committed to pay the real Living Wage and deliver a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.

Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 52,000 people in Scotland and put over £310 million extra into the pockets of low paid Scottish workers.

Gillian Quinn, head of HR at CHAS said: “As an ethical employer of choice, CHAS aims to do the very best that it can for all employees in the Organisation and becoming an accredited Living Wage Employer is a step towards ensuring that CHAS employees have a degree of financial security, especially in these uncertain times. CHAS’s ongoing commitment to staff is to maintain this accreditation and to work alongside other accredited organisations to press for annual reviews of the real Living Wage rate, in line with increases in the cost of living.”

Peter Kelly, director of The Poverty Alliance said: “We all need an income that is enough to cover our needs and protect us from poverty, and it’s only right that employers pay a wage that reflects the cost of living. Too many workers in Scotland are paid less than the real Living Wage and, at a time of rising costs, are struggling to stay afloat. The real Living Wage can offer protection from those rising costs.

“Congratulations to CHAS on their Living Wage commitment, and I hope more organisations follow their lead by becoming Living Wage accredited.”

Lynn Anderson, Living Wage Scotland manager said: “We’re delighted that CHAS has become an accredited Living Wage employer. During Living Wage Week, it’s important to highlight those employers such as CHAS that have done right by workers and families, providing them with much needed security and stability even when times are hard. They join a growing movement of over 2400 employers in Scotland who together want to ensure workers have what they need to thrive.

“Our Living Wage employer network includes lots of smaller employers as well as larger and iconic brands like SSE, abrdn, Barrs, & D.C. Thomson. We hope to see many more employers following their example.”