THE Living Wage Foundation is pleased to announce that, BRAG Enterprises, from Crosshill, has been accredited as a Living Wage employer.

Their Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at BRAG, regardless of whether they are direct employees or third-party contracted staff; receive a minimum hourly wage of £8.45. 

This rate is significantly higher than the statutory minimum for over 25s of £7.50 per hour which was introduced in April 2017.

The real Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The Living Wage is calculated according to the real costs of living. 

Brian Robertson-Fern, Managing Director, Brag Enterprises said: “This recognition sits at the heart of who we are as an organisation. 

"We know from the work we do in fragile communities that giving someone a job or career that pays a fair wage is one of the best ways of them helping them out of poverty. 

"By celebrating this milestone here today we are acting as a role model for others to follow. Brag is rightly proud of the impact it makes as a social enterprise and this approach goes someway to us demonstrating this.”

Employers choose to pay the real Living Wage on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage enjoys cross-party political support.

Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation said: “We welcome Brag Enterprises to the Living Wage movement as an accredited employer. 

“Responsible businesses across the UK are voluntarily signing up to pay the real Living Wage now. The real Living Wage rate is annually calculated to reflect the real costs of living.”

"These businesses recognise that the Living Wage accreditation is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like BRAG join us, because they too believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay."

BRAG has spent three decades at the Crosshill Centre providing training opportunities and jobs for the people of Benarty and beyond.

It was established through work by Fife Regional Council and also Dunfermline District Council in the late 1980s to tackle the loss of employment opportunities thriugh the run down of the coal industry.