Spencer commits itself to better pay days

The Hull-based Spencer Group has signed up to support the Living Wage Foundation, and as a result, a number of local families are already enjoying a welcome boost in their earnings.

The Living Wage is calculated to reflect the actual cost of living and stands at £7.45 per hour for workers over 21, outside London, where the rate is £1.26 per hour higher than the national minimum wage.

The rate is determined as being enough for every worker to provide their family with the essentials of life.

The Spencer Group is one of only three private sector organisations in Yorkshire and the Humber that have signed up to support the campaign.

The other companies, Sheffield-based Direct Plastics, and Urban Cottage Industries from Halifax, are also doing their bit to ensure staff are paid a living wage.

Following the company’s decision to adopt The Living Wage benchmark, 16 employees at the £100m turnover Spencer Group are enjoying an average rise in annual pay of £1,259.

The workers, who are based at the company’s offices at Humber Quays in Hull, Hessle, Barrow upon Humber and London, include administrative and reception staff and site labourers.

Spencer Group employs a workforce of more than 400 at its headquarters in Hull and across the UK. The Living Wage also applies to all the company’s agency workers, in roles such as cleaning, administration and security, who have been continuously employed for at least 13 weeks.

Spencer Group chief executive and founder Charlie Spencer said yesterday: “Any business is only as good as its people and, as an employer, you have a commitment to your staff.

“That commitment should extend, if you can, to paying them the Living Wage because, by definition, anything below that is insufficient to live on. I accept there are industries and businesses that probably couldn’t do this because of the nature of the work that they do, but I’m very happy that we are able to do what we’ve done. It has a relatively low impact on our business but a very high impact on the individuals and families concerned.

“The Living Wage is a great initiative and I would recommend other businesses to examine carefully if they can follow suit.”

Part-time administrative assistant Ann Marshall received a rise of £1,248 a year, taking her pay to £9,685 for her 25-hours-a-week role.

Mother-of-three Mrs Marshall, 37, of Preston, east of Hull, who works at the Spencer office in Hessle, said: “It has made a very big difference to me. For example, I’ve got all three children going on residential trips with school and previously I would have struggled to afford for all of them to go, but now it’s not a problem.”

Spencer Group human resources manager Yvonne Moir said: “We believe becoming a Living Wage accredited employer will help our employee retention and engagement.”

The Living Wage has been supported by more than 250 UK employers, such as KPMG, Barclays and the Greater London Authority.

It also has cross-party political support from prominent figures such as Labour Leader Ed Miliband and Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

A spokesman for the Living Wage Foundation said yesterday: “We aim to promote the Living Wage as not only the right thing to do but a decision that makes business sense for employers.

“The Living Wage is reviewed annually in November of each year, and employers have six months from the date of the announcement to implement the rise. We would like to encourage more organisations to get involved within Yorkshire, to join our growing list of responsible employers.”

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