Sundial Group makes Living Wage commitment
The group has committed to pay all employees at the venue at least the hourly wage of £7.85, an increase on the national minimum wage of £6.50 per hour.
Sundial is aiming to pay its entire staff the Living Wage through the introduction of phased pay rises at its Highgate House and Woodside venues over the next two years.
Tim Chudley, managing director of Sundial Group, said: “The hotel sector has been slow to respond to the call for better pay and this step differentiates Sundial Group as an employer that truly values and rewards its lowest paid team members.”
Research by KPMG in 2014 found that 5.2 million people in the UK earn less than the Living Wage. The hospitality sector has the highest proportion of workers earning below the Living Wage, affecting 90 per cent of bar staff, 85 per cent of waiting staff and 80 per cent of kitchen and catering assistants.
Rhys Moore, Director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: “We are delighted to welcome Barnett Hill to the Living Wage movement as an accredited employer. The best employers are voluntarily signing up to pay the Living Wage now. These businesses recognise that clinging to the national minimum wage is not good for business. Customers expect better than that."
InterContinental Hotels Group become the first UK hotel chain to support the London Living Wage in 2012, committing to phased pay rises across its eight London hotels over five years.
Hospitality businesses were among those named and shamed by the government last month for failing to pay their workers national minimum wage.
