The 160 staff recruited to work at British Airways i360 will be paid well over the national minimum wage, after the attraction’s catering partner Heritage Portfolio, part of the Centerplate Group, this week agreed to pay the Living Wage rate, a minimum of £8.25 per hour, to all its staff working at the i360.
“British Airways i360 is one of the few tourism and hospitality businesses that has signed up to the Brighton & Hove Living Wage Campaign and they’ve done it because they believe it will attract the best staff and help with retaining them – we hope this will encourage more to do it,” said Sarah Springford, director of Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce, which runs the local campaign to boost wages.
Said Eleanor Harris, CEO of British Airways i360, “We are delighted that our catering partners, who will be managing our 400 seat Belle Vue brasserie and Tollbooth tea rooms, have also made this commitment.
“We recognise that it’s not easy for the catering industry to do this and we want to publicly thank them – they didn’t have to do it as we undertook our tender process long before we even knew about the Brighton & Hove Living Wage Campaign. We are proud that our attraction will be an exemplar in this way and we have attracted some fantastic staff who will make the visitor experience really enjoyable.”
British Airways i360 is directly employing approximately 70 staff, paying a minimum of the Living Wage to all their employees, including young people aged under 25 who are recent school or college leavers. They have also actively in-sourced roles, such as cleaning and security staff who will also be paid at this rate or more.
Continued Eleanor Harris, “When we tender for services, we aim to hire companies who are local, sustainable and pay the Living Wage. Wherever possible we encourage our suppliers to join the Brighton & Hove Living Wage Campaign. This is not always possible but we have had a lot of success.”
This includes their waste management provider, the Recycling Partnership; IT service provider Curve IT; CCTV provider Brighton CCTV; PR provider Natural PR; translation firm ABC Translation and they have also shortlisted two washroom services companies, both of which pay the Living Wage. Some of their corporate partners including Skerrits Wealth Management and Preston Insurance are also signed up to the Brighton & Hove Living Wage Campaign.
The attraction’s operations staff are currently undertaking their training in preparation for opening this summer; they are receiving training with nationally recognised qualifications that they can take away with them, including First Aid, SIA security qualifications, personal license holder and health and safety qualifications.
For more information about the Brighton & Hove Living Wage Campaign see: www.livingwagebrighton.co.uk