Wedding venue and events business Gretna Green has received living wage employer accreditation from Living Wage Scotland.
As part of its living wage commitment, all Gretna Green employees will receive a minimum hourly wage of £11 per hour. This is above the UK’s living wage requirement of £10.90, as well as the national living wage for those aged 23 and above, which is set at £10.42.
The accreditation celebrates employers that choose to go further than the government minimum by paying the real living wage on a voluntary basis to all relevant workers. The living wage movement has delivered a pay rise to more than 60,000 lower-paid Scottish employees and given them an extra £370 million since 2011, with more than 3,000 living wage employers now based in Scotland.
Living Wage Scotland was established by the Poverty Alliance to increase the number of Scottish employers which pay their staff the real living wage. It works in partnership with the Living Wage Foundation and is funded by the Scottish government.
Isabel Rhodes, chief executive officer at Gretna Green, said: “This is an extremely proud moment for the business becoming an accredited Living Wage Employer. Recognising the fantastic contribution our staff make in the business, we moved our base rate of pay to £11 per hour for all employees aged 18 and above, joining the growing movement of employers in Scotland which put their people first.”
Gretna Green offers its employees up to 30 days of annual leave for full-time workers, competitive pay, exclusive staff discounts in its hotels and retail outlets, one free night’s stay in one of the hotels subject to availability, an additional day off for staff birthdays, free lunch, a pension scheme, and training and development through its ‘Great Place to Work’ scheme.