FROM MAY's RECRUITER MAGAZINE 

"How will changes to the National Living Wage affect your business?"

Anna Parfitt

Head of HR, Oliver Bonas

“The government’s new statutory National Living Wage will have no impact on Oliver Bonas. We are already a Living Wage employer and were the first UK high street retailer to be accredited by the Living Wage Foundation. This means that we pay all our employees a higher rate than the government minimum. This is paid regardless of their age, unlike the government National Living Wage, which only effects those over 25 years old and over. We believe that there is a direct correlation between paying people what they should be able to afford to live on – and their performance and job satisfaction at work. Our commitment as a Living Wage Employer has already reaped rewards for OB, with a higher response to recruitment and a lower employee turnover.”

Paul Ross

Chief executive, Barker Ross

“Barker Ross has been involved with manufacturing consultants who have particular expertise in lean manufacturing processes. In turn, we have engaged with a large number of our clients who are looking at Kaizen projects within the manufacturing environment to improve productivity, reduce wastage and measure the impact of training, to enable us to assist in reducing the overall cost per unit. By measuring the impact of the operations, we can start to calculate the true cost of labour and add value to our clients. Barker Ross firmly believes that this is a positive approach to the ever-increasing costs for manufacturing wages.”

Nick Peacock

Owner and managing director, Ascendant Recruitment

“The introduction of the National Living Wage is a major step toward recognising the value temporary workers bring to the workplace. As a recruitment agency, we’re already very much aware of this, with over 40% of temporary workers securing permanent opportunities through their temporary assignments. We anticipate that the introduction of the National Living Wage will encourage more people to take temporary work and the opportunities it brings more seriously. This should ultimately result in an increase of quality candidates into the marketplace.”