A SCOTTISH technology company has not only decided to pay the living wage but has made it the pillar of their salary structure.
AV Department Ltd, which supplies high-quality audio visual equipment, became Scottish Living Wage Accredited employers shortly after the scheme was introduced in 2014.
The decision has given the company a positive image and has also boosted the morale of its nine employees, according to managing director Mark Kisby.
“It was a fairly easy decision for us to make, as quite a lot of our staff are technicians so they are quite well paid anyway,” he said. “It only affected a couple of people but what we have done is base our entire salary scale on a multiplier of the living wage.
“It means that on the lower part of the salary scale everyone’s wages went up a little, but it has also made our whole salary policy very clear.
“Also if the living wage increases then everybody’s wage increases because it is the backbone of our whole salary structure.
“It just makes it easier as it gives people a clear understanding of exactly where they stand and how the salary scales work. It takes the onus off us in keeping up with inflation. It is a very simple way of applying a salary policy as it is a bit more open and people can discuss it. We work in an industry where we have to work all hours and we have got to have a very good cohesive team that likes to work together. I don’t want animosity over the salary structure and this is a really good way of solving the problem.”
Kisby also found that when the news of the living wage accreditation was put in the company’s newsletter it brought a very positive response.
“People do take notice of it, and those are the people we would want to do business with,” he said. “It gives us more confidence to do business with public-sector bodies because if we can say we are paying the living wage people know we are not employing cheap labour.
“It also has a positive effect on our freelance staff as they know we are not looking to exploit our employees.”
In addition, the company tries to make sure that any sub-contractors they hire are paying the living wage.
“It just seems like the right thing to do,” said Kisby, who founded the company 10 years ago and is now seeing annual growth of 20 per cent. “We are a relatively small company, but by building the living wage in at an early stage it becomes part of our practice and is not a problem. Quite a lot of people think it is something bigger companies do, but if we can do it then anybody else can.”
Kisby said the living wage was all part of the socially responsible ethos of the company, which has just received ecostar accreditation for its environmentally friendly practices.
“We have a range of vehicles from large, high-topped vans to small electric vehicles while a lot of companies just have a one-size-fits-all – and that is the biggest they can possibly get – which ends up doing even the smallest jobs,” he said.
“Our range allows us to send an appropriate vehicle for an appropriate job, and two of them are 100 per cent electric. They are now clocking up the most miles as a lot of our journeys are quite short with a small amount of kit.”
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