It’s easy for big companies to talk about the importance of their staff to the success of the organisation. We’ve all heard the well-intentioned corporate messages: “Our employees are our greatest asset”; “our people are our real strength”. Most big companies say it and I’m sure they all mean it.
But today SSE has gone a big step further in showing our people how much we value them. We’re putting our money where our mouth is and paying them all The Living Wage.
I believe that everyone who works for SSE makes a valuable contribution regardless of their position or experience. And they’re entitled to something straight-forward in return: a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.
The Living Wage - currently £7.45 – is set at a level which ensures that employees have enough money to maintain a decent standard of living. It takes into account things like accommodation and travel costs and is a good reflection of the actual cost of living.
I am very proud that SSE is now the biggest British company to be officially accredited as a Living Wage Employer by the Living Wage Foundation, it sends the message that we are serious about our people and committed to being a responsible employer.
To put it simply: We’re doing the right thing.
But this is not just about the 20,000 people directly employed by SSE. The nature of the industry we’re in means that we spend huge amounts of money on our supply chain – over £2bn a year in fact - and that supply chain employs thousands more people.
From next April every new contract awarded by SSE will contain a clause which ensures that those people also receive The Living Wage. That is a very significant move by us because it mean we’re not stopping at our own employees – we want everyone who works for SSE, directly and indirectly, to benefit.
These people also make a valuable contribution to our business and we want them to be paid a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.
There are also good business reasons behind our decision to introduce The Living Wage, studies show that staff morale, attendance and productivity are all higher in organisations where employees receive The Living Wage. So it’s possible to argue that it also deliver a good return on investment.
As an energy company we’re not always popular with customers, politicians and others. But I hope today everyone will recognise that SSE is a company that believes in doing the right things and is prepared to back that up with real action.
I was surprised to learn that SSE is only one of three FTSE 100 companies to become a Living Wage employer. Perhaps big business has just been a bit slow on implementing this fantastic policy, or perhaps they haven’t quite grasped what a good thing this is to do. Either way, our message to them is simple: It’s over to you.