To mark the latest increase in the real Living Wage rate, Perth-based utility giant SSE has projected the new rate onto the side of its nearby Pitlochry hydro dam (pictured).
The Living Wage Foundation has increased the recommended rate as of 1 May 2017 from £8.25 to £8.45.
The real Living Wage is independently calculated based on what employees and their families need to get by. It will apply to all SSE staff aged over 18.
SSE became one of the biggest employers in Britain to become a Living Wage company in 2013 and is one of a pioneering group of nearly 3,000 employers paying the real Living Wage across the UK.
Rachel McEwen, SSE Director of Sustainability, said: “We firmly believe in paying a rate that not only helps our employees afford to live with dignity but also helps our business by improving motivation, and retaining and attracting a quality workforce.
“We’ve been proud supporters of the Living Wage since 2013 and are delighted to see more firms join us in paying a wage that meets the cost of living.”
Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation, said: “Business by business and organisation by organisation, employers are voluntarily choosing to close the pay gap in the UK between what people need to live on and the government minimum that every employer has to pay.”
Pixie Energy is an incubator and a facilitator of strategic research and project work, focusing on energy regulation, policy and markets at the local and national level. Find out more about Pixie Energy