OREANDA-NEWS. SSE has unveiled plans to extend the Living Wage to all contracted employees working at its sites. It is currently the only energy company paying its employees the Living Wage, and is now rolling it out across its GBP 2bn-a-year supply chain.

Last September SSE became one of the biggest Living Wage employers in the UK, guaranteeing all 20,000 staff - now ?7.65 an hour. This is an hourly rate above the national minimum wage which experts believe meets costs of housing, bills, food and work travel.

Now SSE will ensure any contracted employee who works regularly on one of its sites is also paid at least the Living Wage. From April, every service or works contract tendered will include an obligation for the contractor to pay at least the Living Wage.

SSE Chief Executive Alistair Phillips-Davies said: “SSE is proud to become one of the first big companies to pay its employees the Living Wage.

“With a workforce of over 20,000, this demonstrates that we value the people who work for SSE very highly and we're willing to pay them at a level which shows them we mean it.

“It also shows that SSE is a company which is serious about doing the right thing. It is a matter of basic fairness that people should get a wage which is enough to cover their living expenses and SSE believes in being fair.”

This obligation will not be retrospectively added to existing contracts, but all new contracts will be Living Wage compliant. In time, all contracted employees will receive the Living Wage.