Accredited as a Living Wage Employer
We are delighted to have been accredited as a real Living Wage employer since 2021. Offering a real Living Wage aligns with our aims to deliver an exceptional, world-class experience and the real Living Wage supports in attracting and retaining the high quality of staff required to achieve this.
In addition to offering rates of pay in excess of the real Living Wage, we have an attractive package to offer prospective employees, which includes a wide range of benefits, such as free entry into other attractions for their employees, free entry into their attraction for friends and family, a breakfast club with free cereal and baked goods daily, free tea and coffee, a generous gift voucher at Christmas, as well as a bonus which last year was 20% of salary. Employees also benefit from an extensive Employee Assistance Programme as well as an NHS-approved wellness app for mental health.
Accreditation Process
In the early stages of the Covid 19 pandemic the company's research on recessions showed that businesses that retained employees during recessions recovered faster. We worked hard to retain almost all our staff and topped up furlough to 100%. As covid restrictions eased and trade returned, we raised pay, ensuring all employees received at least the real Living Wage.
We believe that the real Living Wage can allow all employees, especially younger employees, to afford to live even in an expensive city like Edinburgh, but also to plan for the future with the security of a fair wage.
Tony Millar, Manager, said “In this cost-of-living crisis, we are sure that the benefit of having a Living Wage employer will be felt even more keenly by employees. While the introduction of a national minimum wage was an important initiative to bring some workers out of relative poverty, it was not calculated in such a way as to reflect the true cost of living.”
The real Living Wage rate this year has largely been driven by sharply rising fuel and rent costs. The real Living Wage is different to the Government minimum wage for over 23s, called the ‘National Living Wage’ (NLW). While the real Living Wage is independently calculated based on living costs and is paid by employers voluntarily, the government’s NLW is based on a percentage of median earnings, and all employers are required to pay it.
In Scotland, more than 14% of all jobs pay less than the real Living Wage - around 330,000 jobs. Despite this, Camera Obscura & World of Illusions has committed to pay the real Living Wage and deliver a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.
Andrew Johnson, General Manager, said “We’re extremely proud to have been accredited as a Living Wage Employer. The accreditation strongly aligns with our belief in promoting good work practises and joining this movement is a positive action which will greatly benefit our team. Our staff are our biggest asset and continuing to attract and retain the best people is essential for the continued success of the visitor experience.”
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