Black Nova has today been accredited as a Living Wage Employer. Their Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at Black Nova Designs receive a minimum hourly wage of £10.90, significantly higher than the government minimum for over 23s, which currently stands at £9.50 per hour. Something which, in the current climate is life-changing for their team.
‘The average monthly living cost for a single person in the UK is estimated to be around £2,200 with rent included. For a family of four this figure rises to £3,874.’ According to a survey by Expatistan.
Black Nova is based in the South West, a region where almost a fifth of all jobs (18.1%) pay less than the real Living Wage – around 424,000 jobs. Despite this, Danielle and Kyle, Managing Directors of the website design, hosting and IT solutions company based in Calne have committed to pay the real Living Wage, the only rate calculated according to the costs of living.
“Knowing that through us paying their salaries, we have had a direct and positive impact in enabling our staff to pay their mortgages, add to their savings, treat themselves or enjoy family days out is an incredible feeling for us, and we share in their joy. Though they earn every penny, and are invaluable to us, for us as a business to be able to commit to paying them above what the baseline of our responsibility is as an employer is a sign that our business is a success, and we are achieving what we set out to as entrepreneurs – creating a better life for us and those around us.”
“I recently joined the company, after working two jobs in a constant battle to try and save whilst affording to live, I really felt like I was constantly treading water to stay above the surface. Now that I am receiving the real Living Wage from Black Nova it has honestly transformed my quality of life and I am so grateful to Danielle and Kyle for their commitment to improving the lives of their employees by paying them fairly and in line with the cost of living, where the Government’s minimum fall short.” Says Holly Thomson, newly appointed Head of Marketing and Business Development at Black Nova.
Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation said: “We’re delighted that Black Nova has joined the movement of almost 11,000 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 Burberry, Barclays, Everton Football Club and many more. These businesses recognise that paying the real Living Wage is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like Black Nova, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.”
