Lanarkshire bakery and confectionery ingredients supplier R&W Scott has become an accredited Living Hours employer.
According to Living Wage Scotland, the organisation behind the Living Hours scheme, the Carluke-based company is the first food manufacturer in the UK to make this commitment.
The Living Hours accreditation requires employers to pay the Living Wage (which is set at £9.90 outside of London) to all their employees over the age of 18 and commit to providing at least four weeks’ notice for every shift, with guaranteed payment if shifts are cancelled within this notice period.
Living Hours employers also provide a guaranteed minimum of 16 hours every week (unless the worker requests otherwise), and a contract that accurately reflects hours worked.
R&W Scott has been an accredited payer of the Living Wage (which is a voluntary rate set higher than the statutory National Living Wage) since May 2019.
“We are absolutely delighted to demonstrate our credentials as a fair and responsible employer by being the first UK food manufacturer to gain Living Hours accreditation,” said Stephen Currie, managing director of R&W Scott. “It is especially important during these challenging times to be able to support our employees in every way we can.”
R&W Scott is the 14th employer to sign up to the programme delivered through Living Wage Scotland via the Poverty Alliance and funded by the Scottish government.
“R&W Scott are already committed to fair work through paying the real Living Wage and it is great to see the company building on this by achieving accreditation as a Living Hours employer,” said Richard Lochhead MSP, minister for just transition, employment and fair work. “This gives their employees security of hours and pay, which is even more important in these challenging times.
“The Scottish government introduced the Living Hours accreditation scheme to recognise that, along with payment of the real Living Wage, the number and frequency of hours worked are also critical to tackling in-work poverty.”
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