In 2021 we are proud to have been accredited as a Living Wage employer. At Dataplan Education we believe that for our people to be their very best they have to be given an environment to flourish and grow.
There are many aspects to this; benefits, training, culture and not forgetting, pay.
This is why, as the latest part of our commitment to our people, we decided to pursue the accreditation of Living Wage Employer and we are delighted to announce we are now an accredited Living Wage employer.
The Living Wage is different to National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage
Unlike the National Living or National Minimum Wage which is a statutory standard set by the Government, the Living Wage or as it is otherwise known the Real Living Wage is a voluntary standard. Rather than rising a set amount each year the Living Wage is informed and updated each year using the ‘Minimum Income Standard’ for the UK and informed by the public.
Applying to all employees aged 18 and over, the UK Real Living Wage rate is £9.50 per hour for the year 2020/21, and the London Real Living Wage is £10.85 per hour, whereas the National Living Wage (or National Minimum Wage) is significantly less at £8.91 per hour for employees aged 23 and over, £8.36 for those aged 21-22 and just £6.56 for those aged 18-20.
By applying the Living Wage standard, this means that we can ensure we are paying our employees what they and their families need to live.
What Dataplan Education has to do as an accredited employer
To become, and to remain, accredited Dataplan Education has committed to paying all staff aged 18 and over the Real Living Wage rate. From the time of accreditation an employer has 6 months to ensure that this criteria has been met, and as the rate changes and increases every year each employer must apply this within their eligible team to remain accredited.
This means that for the year 2021, Dataplan Education must pay all of our employees aged 18 and over £10.85 an hour in the London area and £9.50 an hour for the rest of the UK.
In addition, accredited employers have a responsibility to encourage their suppliers to take up the Real Living Wage. This means being responsible and involves:
Establishing what their employees earn?
Once established, if this is below the Real Living Wage, encouraging suppliers to pay this rate
The benefit to our people and organisation
By committing to paying the Real Living Wage at a minimum, we can ensure that we are paying our people a fair wage that will afford them the living costs in their area. We strongly believe that happy people do their very best work, and research has often shown that finances can be a leading cause of stress and unhappiness.
The Living Wage Foundation conducted a Business Benefits Study amongst their accredited employers, and it showed that 75% of respondents thought that it had increased their motivation and retention rates. 58% of respondents felt that it had improved relations between their managers and staff.
A word from Elaine Gibson, Director of People & Quality
“As one of the major employers within the Grimsby area, we are so very proud to have achieved the Real Living Wage accreditation.
Employers are not mandated to pay the Real Living Wage, we have undertaken this voluntarily because we feel it is the right thing to do for our people and to hopefully attract new people to come and work for us.
This is not a one off achievement but a commitment to ensure we continue to ensure we pay on or above Real Living Wage rates now and in the future. The accreditation helps Dataplan to get the message out there that we are a fair employer who values our people.”