PGL Beyond, the UK’s biggest outdoor education provider, became the first employer within the outdoor education sector to be officially accredited with the Living Wage Foundation.
The accreditation means that the organisation, with over 2,000 team members across the UK, pledges to pay all team members a wage that meets the real cost of living. Every individual PGL Beyond colleague will earn at least the real Living Wage, a figure independently calculated by the Living Wage Foundation, based on what people need to live as opposed to the minimum amount of pay set by the government.
“We know historically that the hospitality sector is one of the largest employers in the UK, yet many working within it still face low wages and financial insecurity,” said PGL Beyond’s CEO Anthony Jones.
We are committed to ensuring not only fair wages for our colleagues, but to provide them with a positive and supportive work environment, clear career pathways and opportunities to really build a future in the sector. By paying the real Living Wage, based on the true cost of living, we can provide that stability as well as setting a new standard for fair employment practices in our industry.”
In making this commitment, PGL Beyond joins a movement of the UK’s most progressive companies paying their employees the real Living Wage.
“At the moment only 1 in 7 UK companies pay their employees the real Living Wage,” continued Anthony. “In a world where we have continuing financial challenges, we believe we should provide fair pay for fair work, allowing all colleagues a decent standard of living. And we would encourage others to do the same.”
PGL Beyond is a network of brands including PGL, NST, European Study Tours and Studylink Tours with 16 residential centres and 2 support centres across the UK.
Sharon Parkin, People & Culture Director, PGL Beyond; and Athony Jones, CEO, PGL Beyond with the Living Wage Foundation’s Andrew Gordon, Programme Manager and Caitlin Durham, Senior Partnerships & Campaigns Manager
