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www.thecaterer.com When is a minimum wage a living wage?
Mark Linehan, managing director of Sustainable Restaurant Association, says there are long-term benefits to paying a living wage to staff
“
e believe that an economy in which an adult has the reasonable expec- tation of earning a decent living is one where dignity and respect are perpetuat- ed. We advocate for a living wage as a norm.” These are the words of pub land-
W
lord Andrew Fishwick, not a politician. The owner of the Truscott Arms made this admirable statement. And when he did, he was talking about paying his staff the Living Wage, as calculated by the Living Wage Foundation, which in London is £9.15 an hour. The Chancellor has since announced his own version of the Living Wage, called the National Living Wage. He decreed that all over-25s would have to be paid a minimum of £7.20 an hour from April 2016. That’s 70p up on the current rate paid to over-21s. The industry has been quick to respond, concerned it will cost business dear. But the fact remains that a large propor- tion of people working in hospitality are low paid and staff turnover is high. Many that do stay the course experience a poor standard of living – reliant on tax credits and other state assistance. While it’s irrefutable that a genuine living wage comes with a significant up- front cost, there is a very strong case for it proving cost effective in the long term. And who are the real winners in this anyway? Certainly not the under-25s who’ll have to wait for that milestone before they
“52% of shoppers were willing to pay more if staff were paid the Living Wage”
can appreciate the new-found riches of their older colleagues. With the govern- ment taking away tax credits, its solution is to make employers step up and pay their staff a wage they can live on, without actually hitting the mark. The Chancellor has imposed a rate of pay (it grates calling it a Living Wage) below what the Living Wage Foundation has calculated is required to
sustain a basic standard of living, leaving thousands of workers as the losers. Perhaps George Osborne should have listened to his colleague Boris Johnson, who in a speech at the British Hospitality Association Hospitality and Tourism Summit earlier this month said: “When businesses pay the Living Wage they have higher loyalty and commitment from staff, better productivity and lower staff turnover and HR costs.”
If consumers said they’d be prepared to
pay that little bit extra to cover increased staff costs, wouldn’t that be a good incen- tive for businesses? In a 2014 survey by Censuswide, 52% of shoppers were willing to pay more if staff were paid the Living Wage; 61% would recognise the benefits in service from staff in pubs, restaurants and hotels if they were paid the Living Wage; and four in 10 would consider shopping elsewhere if their preferred store did not pay the Living Wage. And an independent study examining the benefits of implementing a Living Wage policy in London found that more than 80% of employers believed that it had enhanced the quality of the work of their staff, while absenteeism fell by approximately 25%. There’s an old phrase about knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing. Employees are the lifeblood of a business – value them and treat them well and the rewards will flow.
Sticky stories: how famous puddings were created We’ve a lot to thank Nigel Mackenzie for. Back in 1972, the restaurateur, who has died this week, gifted banoffee pie to the world. To commemorate the treasured memory of the banoffee pie, we’ve looked at the backstory of some other favourite puds.
All in the name Fancy a slice of “hydropathic pudding”? We thought not. Yet this was the original name for the glorious centrepiece of many a picnic table, more happily known as summer pudding. In the 19th century, it was offered to the sick in health spas, as part of a special diet.
Fondant Fancy The legendary French chef Michel Bras likes to think he
invented the chocolate fondant in 1981: patenting his recipe for individual cakes, baked with frozen ganache inside that turned into a runny centre. But according to Lucky Peach, he was pipped to the post by a Texan housewife in the 60s, who came second in a baking contest with her gloriously named Tunnel of Fudge cake. For some reason it didn’t take off – but luckily for fondant lovers everywhere, a few years later top New York chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten had a bit of a kitchen accident. He took a cake out of the oven too early, realised it tasted even better with a melting middle – and put it straight on his menu. Which just goes to show: even the worst kitchen disaster can become a triumph, because who doesn’t love a pudding that comes with its own lake of sauce?
By Felicity Spector. Read this article in full at
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth
22 | The Caterer | 31 July 2015
www.thecaterer.com
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