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AMP recently became the first financial services provider in New Zealand to be accredited as a living wage employer, and the spotlight has now been placed on to fair remuneration for employees within financial services, both direct and contracted.
The Living Wage commitment has meant that all AMP employees will receive a minimum of $20.55 per hour, which is substantially higher than the current minimum wage of $16.50 set by the government. The accreditation has been given by Living Wage Aotearoa, a not-for-profit established in 2013 to campaign for the living wage.
AMP New Zealand managing director Blair Vernon says that insurance businesses have a responsibility to set high standards for other employers to aspire towards, and that contracts should be not be looked at purely in terms of their best price.
“The accreditation process for Living Wage Aotearoa seeks to ensure that you’re not only adhering to the minimum commitment of $20.55 for your employees, but that you also extend that to the contractors and service providers within your business,” Vernon told Insurance Business.
“Part of the accreditation process involves renegotiating these to ensure that the actual individuals who come to our premises are going to be shifted on to the living wage. It’s a really good process in terms of the methodology, and, from a corporate point of view, it brings out the need for large corporates to start challenging themselves on this issue. Historically, they might have simply high-fived when they negotiated a sharp price on a contract without necessarily contemplating the knock-on effects for the people providing the service.”
Vernon says AMP had moved a small portion of its employees on to the wage prior to accreditation, and another 10-20 contracts nationwide will now also be affected. When it comes to the financial services sector, he says there is still a focus on price as opposed to employee impact, and this puts the sector in a good place to lead the way in ensuring a living wage across all parts of the business.
“For the most part in financial services, you’ll find permanent employees are generally at the living wage or above,” he stated. “But most players in this industry wouldn’t turn their mind towards what their service providers are actually getting paid – they just think of it as a contract with an entity, and, as an industry, we tend to have a lot of those arrangements. So the financial services industry can easily take a leadership role in this – and not only SMEs, but also large corporates who can reach into their supplier base in order to put momentum behind this initiative.
“I’m hoping this accreditation could be a useful signpost, and I’m adamant about our role in trying to lead that conversation.”
