The group has received formal accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation after it committed to pay all eligible employees working at the company – including third-party contractors and suppliers – a minimum hourly wage of £7.85, rather than the national minimum wage of £6.50 per hour.
Kelda and Yorkshire Water’s chief executive Richard Flint said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the living wage accreditation because ensuring all eligible employees are paid fairly is the right thing to do, whether they are our employees or third-party contractors.
“We are proud to be one of the region’s biggest employers and with that position comes the responsibility that our colleagues receive a fair wage for the important work that they do.”
More than 1,000 leading employers have signed up to pay the living wage, which is set annually by the Living Wage Foundation and calculated by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University, including SSE which signed up in September 2013.
Living Wage Foundation director, Rhys Moore, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Kelda Group which includes Yorkshire Water 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.”