How well can you afford to treat your staff?

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With the imminent rise in the National Living Wage about to kick in, it’s worth considering what’s needed to keep your staff happy? WN Direct are one company who value their workers and are doing everything then can to make it a great place to work.

wnDirect has recently opened new office space in Heathrow and in addition to a more spacious working environment with additional meeting rooms staff also have more attractive and motivational surrounding, a bigger kitchen with additional seating areas and a social area with sofas.

They also have “a number of initiatives designed to empower and motivate its staff including wnVoice which gives each staff member an opportunity to ‘have a say’, a volunteering programme and more quirky regular visit from a masseuse who is on hand to give desk massages to office based staff”.

We know that most small businesses don’t have the resources of wnDirect, but it’s worth remembering that even the small things count, for instance typically in a warehouse there’s a shelf for the kettle, but is there room for a couple of seats so that staff can sit down when they’re taking a break?

wnDirect has also been accredited as a Living Wage employer which means they have voluntarily committed to paying everyone, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third party contractors and suppliers, the minimum hourly wage of £8.25 (Outside London).

Of course it’s easy to make sure that your own staff are paid well, but what about contractors and suppliers? Do you even know what the people that supply your office lunches, the people who empty your bins or the people that send you invoices and take your orders are paid? Are your suppliers paying a decent salary to the people that pick and pack your incoming deliveries?

wnDirect on the Living Wage

Amy Collins, Director of Marketing, Talent and Culture of wnDirect said: “At wnDirect we have a number of initiatives designed to recognise and reward staff. However, we appreciate that, at the end of the day, your salary is a significant factor in most people’s lives and we wanted to ensure that everyone that comes to work at wnDirect not only recognises the opportunities but also feels appreciated and respected from the outset. We think it’s a great scheme and we’re really pleased to be part of it”.

Of course the Living Wage isn’t intended to be a standard wage, it’s a minimum. We know a lot of marketplace businesses already pay their staff well in excess of the minimum. However we also know that for some small businesses the extra costs will hurt. What are your plans and will your staff be getting a pay rise?

3 Responses

  1. ~
    Austerity has already resulted in the daily rum ration being reduced from one-eighth of an imperial pint to one-tenth. If this continues we may be forced to ‘water it down’ as well.

    Those on the T (temperate) list will however continue to receive their 3p in lieu.

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