Published On: Thu, Sep 15th, 2022

Listers supports workforce by providing cost of living allowance

Listers is giving every employee in the company a “Cost of Living Allowance” of £1,000 over the next 12 months to help them cope with inflation and spiralling energy costs.

The window and door manufacturer has also committed to pay the Real Living Wage as a minimum to new employees in its factory and offices.

At £9.90 per hour outside London, the Real Living Wage is 40p per hour more than the legal requirement of £9.50 per hour.

These measures were introduced by Listers to tackle the twin problems of inflation and employee retention, especially as the company is experiencing increased demand for its products.

“May was our best month on record,” Listers’ Managing Director Roy Frost said. “However, it has become much harder to recruit and retain staff to support our growth, something which the whole country is experiencing.

“We are also acutely aware of the cost of living crisis: energy bills are soaring, supermarket shopping baskets are up, and the cost of fuel at the pumps is rising.

“We simply do not want to see anyone in our company in financial hardship. Therefore, from the end of June, every employee in our group will receive a ‘Cost of Living Allowance’ of £1,000 over the next 12 months, on top of the guaranteed minimum of £9.90 per hour.”

This decision is expected to cost Listers more than £400,000, which is the single biggest investment since the new owners bought the business in 2017.

“We cannot afford to jeopardise our service levels by losing our good people,” Roy said.

Listers makes some of the country’s most sought-after windows and doors. It sells its products into new-build developments and to homeowners via a network of installation companies.

Roy attributes the success of the business in part to the knowledge, experience and the culture within the workforce, which he is committed to protecting.

“Our employee retention rate over the last five years has been great – many of our staff have been with us for decades. In fact, only in May we presented 80 long service awards to our staff throughout the group. They are the people that make our company what it is today and in turn look after our great customers.”

In a letter to employees, outlining the new payment structure, Roy said: “We proudly pay the ‘Real Living Wage’ as a minimum to new employees on our shopfloor and offices. We work hard to train and upskill you so you can rise through the pay scales gathering more skills and experience along the way and we have plans to do more of this in the future. 

“As a group, we will continue to make investments within the company to grow and secure a bright future for all of you, investing in our people is first and foremost. We are also planning further major investment in our fleet over the coming months and have plans to grow our capacity further and our Aluminium Business to ensure we meet the demands of our customer base. These investments all have the same goals, to make our futures safe and to continue to improve our service.”

If you are interested in a career at Listers, please email hr@listerwindows.co.uk