Kim Coles of Lush on the living wage

In this second piece from our upcoming interview Kim Coles of Lush talks about the Living Wage.

Lush has been committed to lifting the wages of its lowest paid staff since its London-based employees informed the group that they were struggling with the cost of living back in 2011.

Lush introduced the London living wage of £9.15 an hour and it remains an intention of the group to take that level of wage around the UK.
The inhibitor to it is the huge cost of implementation. The London living wage added £1/2million to Lush’s wage bill.

“We are very aware of the poverty levels in the UK and our people were just not able to afford to live. I think the living wage is amazing and what the Government did in the Budget relating to it was good. But we don’t take these decisions lightly,” Coles explains. “It’s really hard to work out what to pay your staff and along with high business rates it is a big deal for retailers to make this commitment. We’re lucky in that we have had so much success that we have the finances in place to look after our staff. We want the best for them.”