Paying a fair wage, a living wage.

Here at Freethought we are comitted to operating our business in an ethically conscientious way. Anyone who knows us, knows that our ethical principles are at the very heart of our business and they shape everything from our products and services, to the way in which we interact with our customers, and even our marketing practices. We believe that being ethical means being kind to the environment, acting responsibly with our supply chain, and paying our fair way in tax to the society in which we operate. We also believe it means being fair and kind to our employees and so today we are delighted to announce that we are officially a Living Wage Employer.

Committing to paying the real Living Wage means that we will pay all of our employees not just the legal minimum wage, but the necessary wage to actually live as calculated by the Living Wage Foundation using the real cost of living. This means that all employees will earn at least £9.30 per hour in the UK or £10.75 per hour in London, a long way above the legal minimum wage of only £8.72 per hour as of April 2020. We belive that a hard day's work, deserves a fair day's pay.

Kieran Jones, Director, Freethought said:

"I'm thrilled to have joined the Living Wage Foundation and the over 6,000 other companies who are committed to paying their employees a fair and realistic wage. It's so important that people who work hard are paid fairly. For me I believe that an employee who isn't worried about how to make ends meet will be happier and ultimately more productive. Even more importantly though, we want our employees to be able to do their job safe in the knowledge they can provide for their familes and afford the nice things they'd like, to be able to afford to go on outings and holidays, and enjoy the time with their families when they aren't working. We work to live, not the other way around."

Freethought is based in the East Midlands and Yorkshire, which together have one of the highest proportions of non-Living Wage jobs in the country; around 22%, with over 405,000 jobs paying less than the real living wage. We are thrilled to join over 6,000 other businesses in paying our employees a fair wage well above the minimum set by the government. We feel that this is our moral and ethical duty to ensure our employees are properly paid so they don't need to worry about money, or housing, or food and receive a monthly pay that is reflective of the actual cost to live in this country.

The real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to the costs of living. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their staff earn a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum. Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 200,000 people and put over £1 billion extra into the pockets of low paid workers.

Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation said:

“We’re delighted that Freethought has joined the movement of over 6,000 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 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 and they, like Freethought, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay."

You can find out more about the Living Wage Foundation on their website, and to find out more about the ethics at Freethought check out our about page to learn about our environmental policies, our ethics, supply chain, even our tax practices.