Charity Fife Voluntary Action has become an accredited living hours and living pension employer, as awarded by the Living Wage Foundation.
Through living hours accreditation, the charity’s employees will receive secure working hours, at least four weeks of notice for shifts and guaranteed payment if shifts are cancelled within this period, and a guaranteed minimum 16 hours per week contract that reflects actual hours worked.
In addition, it requires employers to pay all employees over the age of 18 the real living wage rate of £13.15 per hour if they are based in London, and £12 per hour for those across the rest of the UK.
Meanwhile, the living pension accreditation equates to a 12% pension contribution from both employer and employee. The living pension savings target is 12% of a full-time living wage worker’s salary, including a minimum 7% employer contribution. This is higher than the auto-enrolment minimum, where employers must contribute at least 3%, while staff pay 5%. The savings target can also be met as a cash amount of £2,950 a year, with the employer contributing at least £1,720 to this.
Fife Voluntary Action became a real living wage employer back in 2014. The aim of the accreditations is to provide its workers with financial security now and in the future.
Kenny Murphy, chief executive of Fife Voluntary Action, said: “We are committed to giving our employees a fair deal, rewarding their hard work and commitment despite the many financial pressures we face as an organisation. Our board of trustees has been fully committed to taking steps to ease financial stress on our employees, such as pensions. There are many real living wage accredited third sector organisations in Fife and we strongly encourage them to explore further accreditation.”
Kerry Bates, HR manager at Fife Voluntary Action, added: “We’re proud to be triple accredited with Living Wage Foundation, joining a movement of organisations committed to ensuring everyone is paid a fair wage, offered fair, and receives a pension that will help them considerably in their retirement.”
