Harper Macleod accredited as a ‘living wage’ employer

The living wage commitment will see everyone working at Harper Macleod, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers, receive a minimum hourly wage of £7.85 – higher than the national minimum wage of £6.50.

Martin Darroch, chief executive of Harper Macleod (pictured), said: “The firm has always embraced our responsibilities as both an employer and a member of the Scotland’s business community.

“We are only too happy to sign up to the living wage and put this commitment down in black and white.

The living wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University.

It is calculated according to the basic cost of living using the ‘Minimum Income Standard for the UK.

Employers choose to pay the living wage on a voluntary basis and it enjoys cross party support in both the Scottish and UK parliaments.

Principal partners of the Living Wage Foundation include law firmLinklaters and professional services firm KPMG.

Accreditation is conferred by the Living Wage Foundation, in partnership withPoverty Alliance.

Living Wage Foundation director, Rhys Moore said: “We are delighted to welcome Harper Macleod to the Living wage movement as an accredited employer.

“The best employers are voluntarily signing up to pay the Living wage now. The Living wage is a robust calculation that reflects the real cost of living, rewarding a hard day’s work with a fair day’s pay.

“We have accredited over 1,000 leading employers, including Harper Macleod, ranging from independent printers, hairdressers and breweries, to well-known companies such as Nationwide, Aviva and SSE.

“These businesses recognise that clinging to the national minimum wage is not good for business. Customers expect better than that.”