Top Mops announces its accreditation as a Living Wage Employer. A commitment that sees all directly employed staff being paid the higher national real living wage, helping them with the current high cost of living and reflecting the company’s commitment to taking positive steps to help all their operatives develop their career in cleaning.
Top Mops is based on the Isle of Wight with offices across the South, a region where 17% of all jobs pay less than the real Living Wage. Despite this the company has committed to pay the real Living Wage and deliver a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.
Sarah Ford Top Mops BICSc Accredited Trainer and Relationship Manager comments: “We are making waves. Cleaning is seen as an unskilled task, that pays its staff as little as possible, generally minimum wage. For us we are working so hard to change the stigma of this across the whole sector. Cleaning is as important as any other sector when it comes to paying people a fair days pay, to support our employees and reflect the commitment they give to us and our clients every day. We are so proud that Top Mops is now Accredited as a Living Wage Employer”.
Cleaning is costed on very tight margins. Paying the Living Wage is often the last thing people and companies think about and trying to fight for decent pay in the sector is a constant battle. For companies with fewer staff it’s easier to implement schemes such as this. However, for Top Mops with a large and growing team this is a really significant milestone.
The real Living Wage from the Living Wage Foundation is the only rate calculated according to the costs of living. Providing a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their staff earn a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum.
Tess Lanning, Director, Living Wage Foundation said: “We’re delighted that Top Mops has joined the movement of over 4,700 responsible employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on. They join thousands of small businesses, as well as household names such as IKEA, Heathrow Airport, Barclays, Chelsea and Everton Football Clubs and many more. These businesses recognise that paying the real Living Wage is the mark of a responsible employer.”