Forth Valley College has officially been accredited as a UK Living Wage Employer.
This means the College will endeavour to pay all employees £8.25 per hour as per the UK Living Wage criteria.
The accreditation also requires this minimum payment for any external contractor or sub-contractor working at least two hours per week over an eight week period. The move is a further boost for college staff on some lower pay grades following a recent revision of pay scales which resulted in an enhanced hourly rate.
Back in July 2015 FVC became the first College in Scotland to make the Scottish Business Pledge and part of this was the commitment to pay the UK Living Wage.
Andrew Lawson, Associate Principal, Forth Valley College, said: “We are delighted to be one of the first colleges in Scotland to pay the UK Living Wage and are very proud of the commitments we have made in achieving this.
“Forth Valley College believes it is essential for organisations to treat staff as well as possible and commit to conditions that reflect how much they are valued and respected. By making sure our lowest paid staff are paid £8.25 per hour, we want to show that Forth Valley College is a mature, professional, progressive, forward thinking and innovative place to work.”
Peter Kelly, Director of The Poverty Alliance who have been campaigning for organisations to implement the UK Living Wage, said: “Congratulations to Forth Valley College on becoming an accredited Living Wage Employer, and becoming the first college to sign up to the Scottish Business pledge.
“With more than half of children in poverty in Scotland living in a household where someone works, paying the Living Wage is more important than ever. We hope that more of Scotland’s colleges will follow in Forth Valley’s footsteps in the coming weeks and months”.