Cumbernauld organisation joins the Living Wage movement

The real Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually, it is calculated according to the real costs of living.

This commitment will see everyone working at CACE, regardless of whether they are direct employees or third-party contracted staff, receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.

This rate, which employers pay voluntarily, is higher than the statutory minimum for over 25s of £8.21 per hour introduced in April 2018.

Margaret Riley, CEO at CACE, said: “Paying people a living wage is just the right thing to do! If we value our employees they feel valued and they in turn want to work for you.”

Cumbernauld and Kilsyth MSP Jamie Hepburn, who is himself a Living wage employer, met staff from CACE to celebrate their accreditation.

He said: “I would like to congratulate all at CACE on becoming a Living Wage Employer.

Paying the real Living Wage and becoming accredited treats people fairly, benefits the economy and sends a positive message about the organisation into the wider community, and I would encourage other local organisations to register as I have done in my own office.

“As always it was a pleasure to visit CACE and to see again first-hand the impact they are making in the lives of local people.”

As part of their accreditation CACE were able to claim on a discount scheme currently being offered by North Lanarkshire Council which enables employers to claim back up to 50 per cent of the cost of their first year’s accreditation fee.

Adele Muir, Employability Development Coordinator at North Lanarkshire Council, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer support to North Lanarkshire employers who are paying employees the real Living Wage.

“North Lanarkshire Council is keen to work with employers to assist them to become accredited real Living Wage employers and is fully supportive of the real Living Wage in North Lanarkshire.

“If we can support North Lanarkshire employers to do this then it will support the growth of the local economy and people of North Lanarkshire.”

The Living Wage Scotland movement is made up of over 1400 Scottish employers who want to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on.

Julie McGahan, Living Wage Scotland manager, said: “We are delighted to welcome CACE to the Living Wage movement.

“We have lots of smaller employers as well as larger and iconic Scottish employers like SSE, Standard Life, Barrs, Mackies, ScotRail, DC Thomson and many more.

“These businesses recognise Living Wage accreditation is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like CACE join us, because they too believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.”