Unilever pledges living wage across supply chain

The survey of 1,087 workers and employers to launch Morgan McKinley’s new salary calculator, comes as the Chancellor is reported to be considering extending the furlough scheme and the Northern Ireland Executive annnounced a four-week extension of the coronavirus restrictions until 5th March. The survey found over half (53%) of employers expect their organisation’s activity levels to increase over the next 12 months, whilst only one in four professionals believe that hiring will return to pre-Covid-19 levels in the same period.

Almost half of employers (49%) feel confident that they will be in a position to offer pay rises in 2021, whilst only 22% of employees are optimistic about being offered an increased salary.

David Leithead, Chief Operations Officer of Morgan McKinley UK said: “Those companies who think they won’t be hiring in 2021 could have a tougher year ahead of them than even they expect, because their number one priority right now should be looking at their talent. Competition for talent, and the wage inflation that goes with it, will be as hot as ever – maybe even hotter – as we come out of COVID-19. This means those companies trying to focus only on retention will face a battle with the companies who are going into the hiring market with a positive story .”

The survey also showed that 68% of employees said they plan to upskill in their area of expertise and over 50% of employers want to hire for specific skill sets to react to market changes and adapt to the changing environment.

Leithead added: “Any organisation or any good leader must have talent acquisition and talent management at the top of their strategic priority list, whether that’s hiring new skill sets externally or retaining existing team members by offering professional development opportunities. Leaders should not rest on their laurels when it comes to their talent. We know that talented people will always be in demand; regardless of whether a company is trying to recover from a crisis or maximise their performance. ”

The survey comes amid announcements by several firms around progressive new policies. Unilever, for instance, has pledged that every worker in its global supply chain will earn the living wage by 2030. It says it will require direct suppliers to pay staff a local living wage that allows “workers to participate fully in their communities and help break the cycle of poverty”. All of Unilever’s direct 155,000 employees are paid a living wage, but the company said it wanted to “secure the same for more people beyond our workforce”.

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