The Brighton and Hove Living Wage Campaign has just signed up its 250th member, a Hove bakery which will join a wide range of organisations paying its staff at least £8.25 an hour.
Brighton Chamber has run the Brighton and Hove Living Wage Campaign for four years, looking at the business benefits of paying a Living Wage, and encouraging businesses to join the local campaign.
Raise Bakery is the 250th business to sign up. They are an independently, family run business with a retail shop based in Hove and a bakery in Worthing, specialising in baked goods, sweet treats and desserts. With a team of 9 staff, Raise believes that paying a higher wage ensures maximum efficiency.
Recent sign ups also include solicitors Griffith Smith Farrington Webb, social media agency Purple Rose Digital, consultancy Gamification+, Lewes Town Council, Vandu Language Services, Sun Rose Care, charity project FareShare Sussex, Skerritts Chartered Financial Planners, cafe Pelican on Portland, Account Management Now, Brighton Plumbers Direct, The Three Chiefs pub kitchen, growth hacking marketing agency Web Smarty, Brighton Catering Supplies, ticket advertising company Ticketmedia and bike courier service Recharge Cargo.
Jeremy Jacobs, Managing Director of Raise, said: “We’re very pleased to find out Raise Bakery is the 250th company in Brighton and Hove to sign up to the scheme.
“It’s important that the companies that are paying a fair wage are recognised, as it can help encourage other companies to follow suit. Being a born and bred Brightonian myself it’s wonderful to see another forward thinking scheme that goes to show how great the city is.”
Launched in 2012, the Brighton and Hove Living Wage Campaign aims to encourage local businesses to voluntarily pay all employees at least the Living Wage rate which is currently £8.25 per hour in the UK (apprentices and interns are exempt).
Set independently and updated annually, the Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK and is the amount required for people to live a decent life, rather than just survive.
Carol Lewis, President of Brighton Chamber, said: “I’m very proud that Brighton Chamber has signed up 250 businesses as Living Wage employers in Brighton and Hove. We hope this will encourage other businesses in the city to join, making Brighton an even better place to do business.”
The Brighton and Hove Living Wage Campaign is the first and only business led campaign in the UK. It is supported by Brighton and Hove Unison and Brighton and Hove City Council.
Council leader Warren Morgan said: “This is a landmark in the Living Wage campaign, one we are committed to working with businesses on. Paying the Living Wage makes sense for business and is good for the city. We all need to support a local economy where people have money to spend and a city where people can afford to live.”
