North East accountant PAFS makes ‘Living wage’ pledge

A north-east accountants Phil Anderson Financial Services (PAFS) has pledged to boost the pay of its staff after announcing its support for the growing “living wage” campaign.

PAFS, which has offices in Aberdeen and Ellon as well as Caithness, has raised the amount of money it pays some workers to meet “living wage” standards.

The Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at PAFS, 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.

The living wage, which is set by the Living Wage Foundation (LWF), is a reflection of the economic climate and based entirely on the amount that an individual needs to earn to cover basic costs of living.

It is currently set at £7.85 per hour as part of 2015-16 pay settlements, but is not a legally enf orceable minimum level of pay for employers.

PAFS is one of a growing number of smaller companies pledging their support to the foundation after a number of larger businesses, including Royal Bank of Scotland, became accredited living wage employers in 2014.

Phil Anderson, PAFS managing director, said: “I am delighted to be able to make this commitment to my staff by signing up to the living wage accreditation.

“I genuinely believe our low staff turnover and high productivity is because of our commitment to our staff. We have a great team and I’m glad we can support the staff in this way.”

LWF director Rhys Moore, said: “Businesses recognise that clinging to the national minimum wage is not good for business. Customers expect better.”