BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Madison, Sportline and off-shoot fishing business Leeda have today announced that they have been Living Wage accredited – making them just the third in the bicycle business to commit.
The Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at Madison, Sportline and Leeda, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers; receive a minimum hourly wage of £7.85 – significantly higher than the national minimum wage of £6.50.
Set independently and updated annually, The Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living using the ‘Minimum Income Standard’ for the UK. Decisions about what to include in this standard are set by the public; it is a social consensus about what people need to make ends meet.
As far as BikeBiz’s investigations earlier this year could see, previously just London manufacturer Brompton and kids bike specialist Isla Bikes were paying the Living Wage or above as standard.
Dominic Langan, Chief Executive at Madison, said: “The Living Wage initiative is something that we as a business feel very strongly about, which is why Madison, Sportline and Leeda have all signed up to this commitment. We have always prided ourselves on being a good, fair company to work for and to work with. As the UK’s largest privately owned distributor of bicycle parts and accessories, as well as a major UK distributor of motocross, freesports and fishing equipment, we wanted to set a positive example for the rest of the industry.”
Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage enjoys cross party support, with public backing from the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.
Living Wage Foundation Director, Rhys Moore said: “We are delighted to welcome Madison to the Living Wage movement as an accredited employer.
“The best employers are voluntarily signing up to pay the Living Wage now. The Living Wage is a robust calculation that reflects the real cost of living, rewarding a hard day’s work with a fair day’s pay.
“We have accredited over 1,500 leading employers, including Madison, ranging from independent printers, bookshops and breweries, to well-known companies such as Nationwide, Aviva and SSE. These businesses recognise that clinging to the national minimum wage is not good for business. Customers expect better than that."
For more information about Madison, visit www.madison.co.uk.
We are particularly interested to hear your stories on this topic with a view to a follow up on industry wages in the near future. If you have any comment, please email to msutton@nbmedia.com.
