BIGGEST INVESTMENT WORKFORCE

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 newbuild 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.