CELEBRATE THE CAMPBELTOWN Malts Festival

from DRAM Scotland April 389

by DRAM Scotland

THE SHIP

BRING THE PREVAILING SPIRIT OF CAMPBELTOWN TO YOUR WHISKY RANGE THIS MAY!

From the whiskiest place with love

Whisky Experiment

www.glenscotia.com glenscotiawhisky glenscotiamalts @glenscotiamalts

The Campbeltown Malts Festival

The Campbeltown Malts Festival is a celebration of the region’s rich whisky making legacy. Every year in May, those few distilleries that have endured step away from their stills to fully open their doors to the local community and visitors from afar. For the workers of Glen Scotia, it is their favourite and most anticipated moment of the year – a time for old friends and making new ones, and raising a dram together to the Victorian Whisky Capital.

Paying the real Living Wage can boost recruitment and retention in the Hospitality & Tourism industry

Living Wage Scotland aims to increase the number of employees in Scotland who receive the real Living Wage–currently £10.90. Living Wage Employers commit to paying the independently calculated Living Wage rates to all directly employed staff as well as contracted third-party staff. There are currently over 3000 Living Wage accredited employers in Scotland, including over 200 employers in the hospitality and tourism industries. Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 60,000 people in Scotland and put over £370 million extra into the pockets of low-paid Scottish workers. The hospitality & Tourism sector has been hit hard by unprecedented challenges over the past three years, having faced Covid-19, Brexit, rising energy and supply costs and recruitment challenges. Attracting and retaining staff is a key priority for the industry with record staff vacancies in 2022. Becoming Living Wage accredited can help address these recruitment challenges and strengthen job satisfaction and morale among employees in the industry. In a sector where more than 48.5 % of employees are paid less than the real Living Wage, committing to a rate based on the cost-of-living can aid campaigns to present hospitality as a rewarding industry.

A bartender at Virgin Hotels Edinburgh stated that “the impact of being paid the real Living Wage is massive as I will no longer need to work extra hours to be able to make ends meet, giving me a great work-life balance and having an impact on my health and happiness, I also believe that my employer will benefit of having more engaged and healthier teams.”

93% of businesses say that being Living Wage accredited has benefited their business with improvements in their reputation, improved recruitment and retention of staff, and increased staff motivation noted as key benefits. Payment of a real Living Wage allows workers to better meet their everyday needs and feel that their value and hard work is recognised by their employer.

Dougal Gunn Sharp, Founder, Innis & Gunn stated: “the hospitality sector is often considered low-paying and the challenges facing the industry at present have been well documented, so ensuring we have strong staff retention is even more important. By paying the real Living Wage, we can continue to show that hospitality offers a great career path with excellent job prospects and pay that matches.”

Accredited Living Wage Employers in the Hospitality & Tourism industry in Scotland include Manorview Hotels and Leisure Group, Diageo plc, Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Cru Holdings and Scotch Whiskey Experience.

Manorview, who own and operate 11 hospitality venues and won the Trailblazer Award at the Living Wage Scotland Awards 2022, said that their payment of the real Living Wage has increased team satisfaction throughout their venues, and this in turn has led to increased customer satisfaction scores and revenue. They told us that “the real Living Wage gives us a fair pay structure to work from. We want to demonstrate to people that hospitality is an excellent, rewarding industry to be part of, and we firmly believe that committing to paying the Living Wage is one very important way we can show this.”

Employers who are interested in becoming accredited follow a straightforward process and help from Living Wage Accreditation Officers is available throughout the journey” Accreditation is suitable for businesses of all sizes. If you have a complex supply chain, we can work with you to discuss the criteria and how this will affect your business.

If you are interested in finding out more about how the real Living Wage can benefit your Hospitality organisation, please contact anna.hirvonen@povertyalliance.org or visit scottishlivingwage.org.