Blog interview with Jon Trigg from Freedom Works
1. Tell me about your business
Freedom Works is a coworking and flexible office operator with an emphasis on ‘Community.’ The idea was born out of the lack of collaborative and flexible workspaces here in Sussex. We’re about being more than a roof over your head from a working perspective – we provide a shared space, where freelancers, micro businesses and SME’s can rub shoulders with and support and collaborate with eachother.
2. Why have you joined the Living Wage campaign?
I think it’s important that the talent that drives any business forward is recognised, and basic recognition is fair pay. As we all know, the minimum wage does not always equate to fair pay- and nowhere more so than in a city like Brighton & Hove, due to its higher cost of living. So, paying the real Living Wage in the city, enables employers to pay what is fair. We’ve joined, simply because we felt it was the right thing to do – and whilst it’s not our place to tell other businesses how they should run themselves, we believe in setting an example.
3. What do you think the benefits are for your employees?
Simple – it enables them to understand that they are valued. Our team are the lifeblood of Freedom Works and whilst we can recognise self-fulfilment, career development and esteem, the basic hierarchy of recognition needs to be in their pay.
4. How will those benefits reflect back on your company?
I hope it displays the ethos which runs through our business. We are community-focused and supporting the Living Wage campaign is just one of our commitments in ensuring we are a community-focused business. Very simply I believe signing up to be part of the campaign makes a statement about what type of business we are, which will make existing and future team members understand the culture they belong to.
5. Has the COVID pandemic influenced your decision to join the Living Wage campaign?
I guess it has. If the last 12 months have shown us one thing, it is that community is key. We need to support each other, whether you are an employer, customer, supplier, or even the businesses owner whose life and soul goes into making their businesses work. The positive, I hope, that will come out of the pandemic will be that recognition of each other and ongoing support moving forward.
If your business hasn’t yet signed up to the Living Wage campaign, we’d love to have you on board.
And if you want to contribute to the Brighton & Hove Living Wage campaign blog, contact us on campaigns@brightonchamber.co.uk.
It is very important that all workers, regardless of age, are paid a fair and liveable wage, so that they can enjoy what life has to offer
We believe that all people no matter of your gender, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation should be paid a fair wage. We pay our staff over the living wage so they can live a comfortable life. We support the campaign because we feel that all companies should have the same mantra.
Quintessence committed to paying our colleagues the Living Wage 3 years ago and pledge to continue doing so. We believe in supporting our colleagues in a variety of ways and financial wellbeing is always high on our agenda which is why we our teams are paid well above the living wage.
We are committed to ensuring that our staff feel looked after by us. We already pay comfortably above minimum wage and this just seems like the right thing to do, especially with the cost of living raising obscenely quickly.
Because we believe in equal rights. We already pay all of our staff the living wage or above and the concept aligns with our company values and the values of customers we would like to work with.
