As you would expect from a forward-thinking commercial cleaning franchise such as Betterclean Services, we’re ahead of the curve when it comes to compliance with the latest workplace and employee legislation.

Nowhere is this more applicable than in the area of the new ‘living wage’, which has risen to £7.20 an hour in April 2016 for workers aged 25 and over. Announced by the government in 2015, all employers across the UK will be required to pay these new rates – so it’s not a case of any firms being unfairly penalised.

Naturally, we knew about all this in advance, and our management team has been working in the background since last year to ensure these changes can actually benefit the franchise network as a whole.

That’s why we’ve already moved to increase pay rates above the minimum wage whereever possible, so we attract cleaning staff with higher standards – that are likely to remain loyal and stay in position longer. This approach has already set us apart as being a strong employer, with a commitment to getting the right people and delivering a higher quality of service.

If you pay better wages, you attract better people to your team, and this in turn raises your value proposition to prospective customers. As an employer, it also means you have a larger pool of talent to choose from as wage increases encourage more people to seek employment.

Of course, our predictive stance on wage legislation gives us better prospects for new business within the commercial cleaning marketplace. For companies outsourcing their cleaning contracts and looking to control ongoing statutory costs related to employment – our ability to migrate high-quality staff to the new living wage contracts is something we’re familiar with already, and can put in place with the minimum of hassle for clients.

In addition, with firms seeking ever-better value for money to go with their higher costs – Betterclean is always looking for ways to provide a more efficient service, not necessarily charging more money!