Law firm becomes a ‘Living Wage’ employer

The move cements a commitment to pay its employees above market rate salaries to acknowledge the true cost of living and working in the UK.

It means the firm, which employs 300 people across seven offices in the West Midlands, joins an elite list of 9,000 UK businesses who have made the commitment, including major brands such as Ikea, Nestle, KPMG, Everton Football Club, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes.

Almost a fifth of all workers (19.3 per cent) in the West Midlands earn less than they need to earn to get by, with around 434,000 jobs paying less than the real Living Wage.

This is why bosses at Talbots have committed to paying their staff the real Living Wage and deliver a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.

Commitment to The Living Wage means paying an hourly rate that is significantly over and above the National Minimum Wage for each employee, meaning staff will be paid a minimum of £9.90 per hour.

Dave Hodgetts, chief executive of Talbots Law, said: “As a management team we’ve made a commitment to continue our ethos of putting our people at the heart of our business, so the decision to attain accredited Living Wage Employer status was a no-brainer.

“We are committed to providing our clients with the best possible service and having happy, well-paid, motivated staff encourages that. It’s important that our staff feel looked after and are earning wages that both reflects their contribution and allows them to provide the life they want for themselves and their loved ones.

“We’re proud to be the fifth law firm in the Midlands to achieve the accreditation and, as ever, we will continue to explore ways that we can blaze a trail and drive positive change in the region.”

Katherine Chapman, director at the Living Wage Foundation, continued: “We’re delighted that Talbots Law has joined the movement of almost 9,000 responsible employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on.”

Talbots is in the midst of its biggest ever recruitment drive, with the company looking to hire more than 100 new employees over the course of the next 12 to 18 months.

This reflects the firm’s commitment to expansion and growth across all legal areas of the business, including conveyancing, corporate, employment, family and trusts and estates.

Jobs available range from senior legal positions and administrative roles to business support vacancies.

David concluded: “We recognise the need to work differently in the wake of the Covid pandemic, and are committed to supporting staff in both hybrid and remote working roles where possible.”