Meet a Living Wage employer: A4 Labels

Charlie Hawker, of A4 Labels, has answered three quick questions to help us get to know them a little bit better.

What’s your business all about – and what makes it unique?

We are an A4 sheeted label manufacturer which started in a spare bedroom in Shoreham-by-Sea by my father, Colin, 14 years ago. We now have a factory and warehouse in Portslade with 10 members of staff and ship our labels round the world. After becoming a manufacturer in 2018, we have been able to stock large quantities of our most popular sizes and materials, allowing us to offer same day dispatch with next day options available. We since have been able to offer both blank and printed solutions with new printing machinery we bought in November 2024. This speed allows our customers to trust that no matter how urgent their situation, their operations don’t come to a halt by running out of labels. 1% of our revenue goes to collecting plastic out the ocean and recycling this plastic into safe housing materials for the local communities in Asia, who currently live is asbestos buildings. Our partnership with Seven Clean Seas has helped us collect over 1.5 tons of plastic in 2025 and support 193 hours of fair wage jobs in Indonesia.

Why did you choose to become a Living Wage Employer?

As a business I feel it is important to give back to the community, the environment but most importantly, our staff. These are values that are shared throughout the company and were passed down by Colin who originally decided to become a Living Wage Employer. You want to attract the best staff, and you also want to be recognised to be doing the right thing because at the end of the day, you are where you are because of your staff and it is important that is recognised. We would love to encourage all other businesses to do the same.

Why is fair pay important to your business?

One thing I have been trying to focus on is making the staff enjoy themselves more, we can do this internally and externally with the support of The Brighton Living Wage. It is no secret that the labelling industry isn’t the most exciting to hear about or work within, so we do what we can to make things more enjoyable inside and outside of working life. Internally, we encourage staff to work on personal projects/side hustles when we have quiet spells. We also go out as a team to do tree planting, escape rooms and help out with our local beehive charity Pollinator Pioneers. Externally, we used the Brighton Living Wage as a guideline to ensure staff can enjoy themselves outside of work – we are aware Brighton is a more expensive place to live than some, so it is important we take on that responsibility to ensure our staff are paid enough to enjoy as well as just live.

A big thank you to Charlie and the team at A4 Labels for being a Living Wage employer!

Can you help us reach 1000 Living Wage employers in Brighton & Hove?

Find out more about the Brighton & Hove Living Wage Campaign here. If you think you’re already a Living Wage employer, or would like to sign up, head over to this page to get started (it’s free!)