Fancy dress and party company Smiffys celebrates its latest commitment to employee welfare as it announces its official accreditation as a Living Wage Employer.
The company’s Living Wage commitment will guarantee that all Smiffys employees receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.00 in the UK or £10.55 in London. Both rates are significantly higher than the government minimum for over 25s, which currently stands at £8.21 per hour.
Smiffys is based in both Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, regions where over 502,000 jobs pay less than the real Living Wage – some of the highest proportions in the country (24%). Despite this, Smiffys has committed to pay the real Living Wage and deliver a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.
The real Living Wage is calculated according to the costs of living. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their staff earn a wage they can live on, over and above the legal minimum.
“As a business that strongly incorporates family values and the ‘One Team’ philosophy, we are committed to delivering a liveable wage to all our valued employees,” said Smiffys’ director Dominique Peckett. “We want to recognise and reward the hard work and endeavours of all employees because such actions have cemented our position as the UK’s leading dress-up manufacturer and distributor.”
Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation said: “We’re delighted that Smiffys has joined the movement of over 5,000 responsible employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on.”
Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 160,000 people and put over £800m extra into the pockets of low-income workers.
