Why CleanStart Is a Living Wage Employer

Sometimes our customers ask why CleanStart is a Living Wage Employer, so we thought we would a blog post explaining our reasoning behind this choice. CleanStart is a supportive employer, meaning we intentionally hire individuals facing barriers to traditional employment. We provide training and employment for our staff, which currently numbers 32 individuals. 

Why CleanStart Is A Living Wage Employer

We at CleanStart whole-heartedly support the living wage movement. One of the many reasons is that a large number of our staff are the economic provider for their family, and supporting a family in Vancouver is not possible on minimum wage. Providing a living wage can help lift families out of the cycle of poverty. A living wage has provided a real, measurable benefit to our staff, as 54% or our staff have self-reported (in an anonymous survey) that employment with CleanStart at a living wage has greatly improved their housing situation. 

And we didn’t want to stop there. Medical benefits, paid leave, flexible scheduling, and free training  are integral to our business as a supportive employer. These benefits apply to all full and part-time staff members and has greatly improved the mental and physical well-being of our staff, and therefore, has increased the strength of our organization as a whole. 

If organizations are looking into a living wage certification, we would enthusiastically recommend doing so. Not just because of the obvious social benefits related to a living wage, like the well-being of your staff, and  local economic development, but also for the bottom-line of your organization. When your staff feels supported it increases staff retention and saves on re-training , time-theft and hiring costs. And a more engaged staff produces better work, company-wide. 

Furthermore, as the marketplace is increasingly becoming more socially conscious, many businesses and individuals are only looking to work with living wage employers. Many of our largest clients are living wage employers themselves, and therefore cannot work with employers who do not pay a living wage.

In summary, we at CleanStart are very proud to be a living wage employer and believe that supporting our people creates knock-on benefits for our staff, community, local economy, and bottom-line. Our employees are our biggest asset and biggest support, and a living wage is the least we can do to support them in turn.  If you would like to check out some more information on CleanStart’s social impact, click HERE.

For more information on the Living Wage Certification in BC, click HERE.