As part of Living Wage Week (11-16 November), Alzheimer Scotland has joined a growing list of organisations in Scotland to have been celebrated as a Living Wage employer by Living Wage Scotland.
Living Wage Week provides an opportunity for Living Wage Scotland, business leaders and leading politicians, to celebrate organisations who are voluntarily going beyond the Government minimum to pay a real Living Wage.
Alzheimer Scotland is the leading dementia charity in Scotland which campaigns for the rights of people living with dementia and is dedicated to making sure nobody faces dementia alone. With over 90,000 people living with dementia in Scotland and the number on the rise, Alzheimer Scotland is committed to providing high-quality, dementia-specific activities, support and care for people with dementia from Shetland to the Borders.
Henry Simmons, Alzheimer Scotland Chief Executive, commented: “We are delighted to announce that Alzheimer Scotland has become an accredited Living Wage employer. We are fully committed to fairness and equality in the workplace and for us this was an important step forward to take.
“In addition to this Alzheimer Scotland has fully embraced the Fair Work Framework, as developed by the Fair Work Convention. This Framework defines fair work as work that offers effective voice, opportunity, security, fulfilment and respect. We continue to ensure the Fair Work Framework is embedded in how we support all our staff and volunteers.
“Providing our employees and volunteers with this support enables Alzheimer Scotland to provide the highest quality possible as we continue working across our localities to help make sure nobody faces dementia alone.”
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said: “The real Living Wage is one of the key tools at our disposal to help make an impact on levels of in-work poverty in Scotland. There is a strong business case for paying the real Living Wage; but crucially it allows those in work to become more included in society, better provide for their families, and feel that their value and hard work is recognised by their employer. We are delighted to congratulate Alzheimer Scotland on becoming a Living Wage employer. I hope more organisations follow their lead by becoming accredited”.
Jack Evans, Living Wage Scotland Manager, said: “We are delighted to welcome Alzheimer Scotland to the Living Wage movement.
“We are a movement of over 1600 Scottish employers who together want to go further than the government minimum to make sure that all their staff earn enough to live on. We have lots of smaller employers as well as larger and iconic Scottish employers like SSE, Standard Life, Barrs, Mackies, ScotRail, D.C. Thomson and many more.
“These businesses recognise that the Living Wage accreditation is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like Alzheimer Scotland join us, because they too believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay."
Dementia is the biggest health and social care challenge faced by society today. There are 90,000 people living with dementia in Scotland and it is now estimated that 20,000 people will be diagnosed with the condition every year by 2020.
If you have any questions about dementia and of the services available in your area call Alzheimer Scotland’s 24 Dementia Helpline on 0808 808 3000.