The Westgrove Group has been accredited as a Living Wage Service Provider.

Westgrove, which employs over 1000 security, cleaning and customer service colleagues across the UK will recommend to its Partners that those colleagues are paid the higher wage rate of £9.00 per hour.

Living Wage Foundation Director Katherine Chapman, said: “We are delighted to recognise The Westgrove Group for their on-going commitment to the Living Wage as a Service Provider.”

Claire McKinley Smith, Managing Director of The Westgrove Group, said: “We are proud to have been accredited as a Living Wage Recognised Service Provider.

“We believe strongly in the importance of looking after all our people from apprentices through to members of staff who have been with us for more than 20 years.

“Although we do not set the wage rates ourselves, we will be working with our Partners to recommend that they pay the living wage rather than the minimum wage. Our customers and suppliers value the fact that we are committed to the training and development of our people along with our commitment to our comprehensive range of products and our passion for customer service.”

The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. It is calculated according to the basic cost of living using the ‘Minimum Income Standard’ for the UK. The Living Wage enjoys cross party support, with public backing from the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The principle behind the Living Wage is that work should bring dignity and should enable families to enjoy the essentials of life.

The Westgrove Group specialises in providing security, cleaning and security services in high footfall destinations from shopping centres, airports and corporate businesses to retail environments across the UK.

The Warrington based company, founded in 1998, has grown considerably in the past two years and is on target to turnover £40 million in the next five years.