TYF believe in the simple idea that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. It was with a mixture of sadness and frustration that we read April Fool’s news from the Government that they’d increased the National Minimum wage had increased up to a still inadequate £8.91.

The gap between the so-called ‘Living Wage’ and the actual cost of living is growing every year and is even worse in most business’ international supply chains than it is in the UK. By the end of 2021 the average house price is expected to increase by £30,000 as compared with house prices before the start of the pandemic, putting the chance of home ownership even further from reality for millions of UK citizens. It seems that the old idiom that "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" is truer than ever in 2021. 

Three years ago TYF trialled a new wage structure and in January 2020 we made the commitment to join 200 other Welsh businesses and 7,000 others across the UK in paying the Real Living Wage to our staff. We felt strongly that: 

1. Age should never be a limiting factor in how much someone is worth.

2. All employees have a right to be paid fairly.

3. Paying people fairly helps us attract and keep good people. 

Today, TYF pay an average wage of £10.29 across the business and have adopted a transparent system for calculating wages to ensure that all our staff are treated fairly. We continue to look for innovative ways to support our incredible team and you can read more about these perks here. 

Our journey towards becoming a Real Living Wage employer involved some difficult decisions, made more scary by the onset of a global Pandemic. All in though, we couldn't be happier with the journey we have been on and the lessons we have learnt. 

And so, today, we ask you to help raise the profile of the Real Living Wage organisation, put pressure on your local MP to increase the National Minimum Wage and help support the thousands of employers who are doing things differently. 

Paying people fairly is never a joke.