CONSULTING firm director Matt Howick has been paying the living wage since the inception in 2009 of his Glasgow-based company, the Social Marketing Gateway (SMG).
He did not need any persuading to sign up for Living Wage Accreditation and says there’s “no excuse” for a company in the sector to pay less.
“We believe in paying people fairly and properly,” says Howick. “Our view is to make sure we pay staff well so they are able to focus on the job rather than worrying about money. That would be a distraction particularly in our type of business.”
The company, which helps clients make positive health and social changes, has a core staff of six but around 20 to 30 associates over the UK.
“I think there is a big difference between consultancy type work and less skilled businesses where there is maybe a bit more pressure on the company to cut costs and margins,” says Howick.
“We sell our time and on some projects we do quite well in terms of margin while others take us a lot longer than we anticipated but it evens out. In our line of work there is no excuse for a company paying less than the living wage as we have fewer overheads.”
SMG has deliberately gone for a business model of a small, well-paid team to run the projects bringing in expertise when needed. The company usually has around 20 projects on the go at any one time with clients including the government, the NHS and the EU.
“We manage the projects here in Glasgow and pull in experts as and when we need them – we might have anything from between three to ten people working on a project,” he says.
A long-standing client is the Greenwich public health team in London. SMG has been helping develop a range of public health interventions designed to encourage people to become more active.
“We are helping them develop strategy and a community engagement system that integrates all community engagement,” Howick says.
Generally the company provides a range of services including research and planning, developing interventions and campaigns, developing digital solutions and training.
As a leading consultancy company, students often approach SMG asking for work experience but Howick is wholly against the idea of free internships.
“When we do bring them in to work for us we make sure we pay the living wage,” said Howick. “If you are getting students in, then pay them properly and give them proper work. They will get more out of it and it makes them more accountable.
He added: “I was a student myself many years ago and now have kids around student age so I don’t want to use students as cheap labour. We have an overseas foreign student starting with us soon for a short time – she will be paid the living wage and she will be kept busy.”
The UK living wage for outside London is currently £8.75 per hour. These figures are calculated annually by the Resolution Foundation and overseen by the Living Wage Commission, based on the best available evidence on living standards in the UK.
The accreditation programme in Scotland launched in April 2014. It is an initiative from The Poverty Alliance, in partnership with the Living Wage Foundation, and is funded by the Scottish Government. There are now over 1100 accredited living wage employers in Scotland.
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