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OCS Group employs over 91,000 people worldwide, with 26,000 of those in the UK, making the company one of the largest facilities management (FM) companies to commit to implementing the Living Wage under the Living Wage Foundation?s Service Provider Recognition Programme.

Under the terms of agreement, OCS Group will pay the Living Wage to all staff directly employed at its UK headquarters. OCS has also undertaken to communicate and offer a Living Wage bid in proposals to all new prospective and current clients alongside any market rate bid, in order to ensure clients have a choice to implement the Living Wage as part of the competitive tender process.

“Well-trained and well-motivated people are critical to our business and our ability to deliver top quality services, “ said Chris Cracknell, chief executive officer (CEO) of OCS Group. “All the evidence from studies carried out in organisations that have implemented the Living Wage is that the Living Wage improves employee loyalty. This, in turn, translates into high levels of retention, lower absenteeism and better quality of service to our clients,” he said.

In the facilities management sector, staff costs account for 80% of soft services contracts and around 40% in hard services. OCS says that it hopes to work together with the Living Wage Foundation and other providers in the facilities management sector to raise standards for staff in the sector overall, through a combination of improved pay, training and career development.

“The scale of OCS Group?s influence in the market coupled with the scale of the company?s commitment to offering a Living Wage bid to all prospective clients, will help to set a new standard for recruiting and retaining quality people in facilities management,” said Rhys Moore, Director of the Living Wage Foundation. “The benefits the Living Wage brings to staff and business are clear. FM is an important sector in the UK in terms of the value it adds and the number of people it employs. We welcome this leadership shown by OCS Group to the Living Wage.”