Stockport Council supports businesses in becoming better employers

Stockport businesses have been inspired to become better employers after finding out more about the benefits of becoming a Real Living Wage employer and signing up to the Greater Manchester Employment Charter, at an event hosted by Stockport Council.

The event took place on June 23rd at Bask (itself a Real Living Wage Employer) in Stockport town centre as part of the first Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter Week.

Delegates at the event heard from three Stockport businesses: Datesand Ltd, One+all and Stockport Homes, who are already reaping the benefits and attracting a high quality workforce thanks to signing up to both schemes. This was followed by a Q&A session with a panel including representatives from the Living Wage Foundation, Good Employment Charter, as well as Stockport businesses. 

Cllr Colin MacAlister, Cabinet Member for Economy and Regeneration at Stockport Council said:

“It was fantastic to see so many Stockport businesses wanting to find out more about paying the Real Living Wage and supporting the Good Employment Charter. The Council are ready to assist businesses through the process, and as we’ve heard today, by making those first steps, you can create and attract a strong workforce and invest in staff wellbeing, as well as helping to ease some of the financial pressures currently being felt.   

“Earning the Real Living Wage has a positive impact on staff, and I’m proud that the Council are a Real Living Wage Employer.”

Claire Wood, Director at Datesand Ltd, said:

“We are thrilled to be a member of The Good Employment Charter, since joining we have seen real tangible benefits across our business. We have both a happy and thriving workforce and our Customer Surveys are the best yet with 99.6% of our customers happy to recommend us to others. We have had a fantastic level of support and encouragement through being a member.  Sharing best practices is common place.  We are committed to paying the Real Living Wage and Living hours too as employers need to do everything they can to support our people, especially during the cost of living crisis. Your people benefit and the business does too. We are proud to be able to contribute towards making the city region ‘The Capital of Good Work’. “

The Real Living Wage as set by the Living Wage Foundation, is the only UK wage rate based on the cost of living. It is voluntarily paid by over 12,000 UK businesses who believe their staff deserve a wage which meets their everyday needs. This is currently set at £10.90 an hour for those aged 18+, which is above the government recommended National Living Wage.    

The Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter is a voluntary membership and assessment scheme which has been created to help deliver good jobs with opportunities for people to progress and develop and contribute to a thriving and productive local economy. Employers can join up as Supporters initially, but can progress to assessed full members should they wish.

Benefits of joining the Good Employment Charter include:

• Show your commitment to paying the Real Living Wage and colleague wellbeing
• Recruit fairly and diversely
• Create a culture of dialogue between your employees
• Peer to peer support
• Access to resources
• Performance improvement
• Network events

To find out how your business could benefit from becoming a Living Wage Employer or signing up to the Good Employment Charter, Stockport Council’s dedicated team can help guide you through the process.