Town & Country Cleaning supports the aims of the new National Living Wage. For more information see www.livingwage.org.uk – summary below:

What is it?

• An hourly rate set independently and updated annually
• The Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK
• The current UK Living Wage is £7.85 an hour and £9.15/hr in London
• Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis
• The Living Wage enjoys cross party support, with public backing from the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition
• Paying the Living Wage is good for business, good for the individual and good for society
• The Living Wage Employer Mark and Service Provider Recognition Scheme provide an ethical badge for responsible pay

What are the benefits?

1) Good For Business

An independent study examining the business benefits of implementing a Living Wage policy in London found that more than 80% of employers believe that the Living Wage had enhanced the quality of the work of their staff, while absenteeism had fallen by approximately 25%. Two thirds of employers reported a significant impact on recruitment and retention within their organisation. 70% of employers felt that the Living Wage had increased consumer awareness of their organisation’s commitment to be an ethical employer. Following the adoption of the Living Wage PwC found turnover of contractors fell from 4% to 1%. 

2) Good For Families

The Living Wage affords people the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. 75% of employees reported increases in work quality as a result of receiving the Living Wage. 50% of employees felt that the Living Wage had made them more willing to implement changes in their working practices; enabled them to require fewer concessions to effect change; and made them more likely to adopt changes more quickly.

3) Good for Society

The Living Wage campaign was launched in 2001 by parents in East London, who were frustrated that working two minimum wage jobs left no time for family life. The causes of poverty are complex and in order to improve lives there should be a package of solutions across policy areas. The Living Wage can be part of the solution.

Lee Turner, Managing Director of Town & Country Cleaning said, “We pay our employees more than our competitors and support the aims of the new National Living Wage. If you pay people more they are more motivated to do a better job and provide greater continuity of service”.

“Our customers really benefit from the people we employ, many whom have been with the Company for the more than 10 years. This is in stark contrast to what the market has generally done in being very price driven. There are many hard working people out there doing jobs most of us don’t want to do, and society should reward them just a little bit more. This is also good for society. Low-paid workers generally spend their income immediately in the local economy benefiting all of us”.

Lee Turner said, “This is all part of a very important development in creating shared value (CSV)…creating wealth and job creation, doing good in the community, being environmentally responsible, and aligning values with all stakeholders including customers, partners, suppliers and employees”.

Town & Country Cleaning has some 65 staff managing +300 customers across both commercial and domestic clients in Surrey, Hampshire and across the south of England. Accreditations include BIFM (British Institute of Facilities Management), British Chamber of Commerce, ISO9001 and insurance to £10m.