Background screening services provider Verifile has been accredited as a living wage employer through its commitment to paying its staff the real living wage.
This accreditation follows the business giving its 156 UK staff a new minimum hourly wage of £10.00 back in January. This wage is higher than the government-set national living wage, which currently stands at £8.91 per hour and will increase to £9.50 in April, and is also more than the real living wage rate of £9.90 an hour outside London.
Verifile, which has been trading for more than 17 years from its Bedford head office, has plans to accelerate its growth globally, and it recognises the part that its people will play in this.
Eyal Ben Cohen, founder and CEO of Verifile, said: “We never forget Verifile is a people business, and we genuinely care about the impact of what we do. Ensuring our colleagues earn a wage they can live on is crucial to us. We are committed to their wellbeing and the impact this has on their families and the community.”
Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation, added that she is delighted that Verifile has joined almost 9,000 UK employers who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on.
“The real living wage provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their employees earn a wage they can live on. Verifile joins thousands of small businesses, as well as household names, that recognise paying the real living wage is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like Verifile, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay,” she said.