VOLPA, the award-winning, Perth-based integrated communications agency has today been accredited by the Living Wage Foundation, in partnership with the Poverty Alliance, as a Living Wage employer.
The business, led by serial entrepreneur, Tricia Fox, has pledged a commitment to offering a minimum wage higher than the national average.
Says a spokesperson: “The Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at Volpa, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers; receive a minimum hourly wage of £7.85 – significantly higher than the national minimum wage of £6.50.”
Their accreditation was marked by a visit to their offices in Perth yesterday by John Swinney, Deputy First Minister, and Pete Wishart, the SNP’s Westminister candidate for Perth & North Perthshire at the general election.
The spokesperson adds: “The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living using the ‘Minimum Income Standard’ for the UK.
“Decisions about what to include in this standard are set by the public; it is a social consensus about what people need to make ends meet.”
Tricia Fox, managing director of Volpa, commented:
“Being a responsible business is about making a difference to both your customers and your employees, it’s not just about delivering profit to the bottom line in any given year.
“People are at the heart of what Volpa delivers as a business and I believe it’s important to have at team that are focused on delivering exceptional service, not distracted by how they will make ends meet from month to month.
“For the sake of ensuring that everyone is paid just £1.15 more per hour that than the minimum wage – or more (less than the price of a cup of coffee), employers can make a significant positive impact on people’s lives.
“I’m proud that Volpa can call itself a Living Wage Employer and I’m happy to support the movement in encouraging other businesses to help make poverty a thing of the past.”
Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage enjoys cross party support, in both the Scottish and Westminster parliaments.
Living Wage Foundation director, Rhys Moore, said:
“We are delighted to welcome Volpa to the Living Wage movement as an accredited employer.
“The best employers are voluntarily signing up to pay the Living Wage now. The Living Wage is a robust calculation that reflects the real cost of living, rewarding a hard day’s work with a fair day’s pay.
“We have accredited over 1,200 leading employers ranging from independent printers, bookshops and breweries, to well-known companies such as Nationwide, Aviva and SSE.
“These businesses recognise that clinging to the national minimum wage is not good for business.
“Customers expect better than that.”
ENDS
MEDIA RELEASE issued by Volpa. You too can post your story ideas for journalists (aka Press or media releases), on allmediascotland.com. Email info@allmediascotland.com for more information.
Check out twitter.com/nonstopstories for your very own media releases feed…
To catch up on all the media releases recently posted on to allmediascotland.com, you need only click the link icon that you see towards the bottom right of our two media release ‘gateway boxes’.
It’s this icon, here. It’s your route straight into the rich archive.
—
Volpa contact details…
Contact: Tricia Fox
Phone: 01738658187
Email: t.fox@volpa.co.uk
Website: http://www.volpa.co.uk
