The Good Employer Charter - The Four Pillars

Pillar 1: Fair Pay

The Good Employer Charter aims to encourage employers to pay a fair wage, develop good employee engagement and offer excellent working conditions.

Accredited organisations are required to pay their staff the Real Living Wage and give consideration to other fair wage practices, such as eradicating modern slavery from supply chains and reducing the gender pay gap.

To meet the criteria for Pillar 1: Fair Pay, organisations will need to:

• Confirm all direct staff are paid the Real Living Wage by allowing a payroll spot check

or

• Register the organisation's interest in becoming a Real Living Wage Employer with the Living Wage Foundation.

Pillar 2: Employ Basildon

The Good Employer Charter seeks to create sustainable local employment and training opportunities across Basildon borough.

Accredited organisations will be required to use the services of The Advice Store to promote and recruit job vacancies. The Advice Store is Basildon Council's free-to-use professional recruitment service which links employers to high quality, job-ready potential employees.

To meet the criteria for Pillar 2: Employ Basildon, organisations will need to:

• Advertise vacancies and training opportunities at the Advice Store and meet with Advice Store Manager to discuss future skills and recruitment needs.
• Provide high quality training opportunities that focus on improving skills, supporting job creation, including for those furthest from the job market
• Seek opportunities to work with schools and colleges to help to ensure young people are equipped with the right skills to match the requirements of the labour market

The Advice Store will work with it's own partner organisations to provide your business with free recruitment support including: placing and promoting vacancies, assessing immediate and/or future recruitment needs and creating new apprenticeship or traineeship placement opportunities.

Pillar 3: Buy Basildon

The Charter seeks to support Basildon's small businesses and promote local supply chain opportunities. Accredited organisations are required to seek quotes and use Basildon Borough businesses as suppliers where possible.

To meet the criteria for Pillar 3: Buy Basildon, organisations will need to:

• Provide an example of a Basildon supplier in their current supply chain; or
• Commit to seeking quotes and having multiple Basildon businesses in the supply chain within the next 12 months.
• Encourage suppliers to endorse and embrace the principle of 'Buy Basildon' throughout their supply chain and to sign up to the Good Employer Charter.

Pillar 4: Be the Best

The Charter encourages businesses to implement best practice in fairness, equality and sustainability throughout their business practices. Accredited organisations are required to commit to continuous improvement across the fields of equality and diversity, staff wellbeing and development and/or environmental sustainability.

To meet the criteria for Pillar 4: Be the Best, organisations will need to:

• Have an equality and diversity policy.
• Have a mental health and well-being policy
• Promote volunteering and offer volunteering opportunities to staff
• Offer flexible working and family friendly working practises
• Promote and provide apprenticeship/work experience/work placements
• Provide an example of employee engagement and development.
• Provide an example of a current initiative they have implemented related to staff health and wellbeing, workforce training and development or environmental sustainability.

Further information and enquiries

For additional information on how your business can meet each pillar, visit our Guidance page.

Guidance and resource centre

For further enquiries please contact the council's Economic Development Team - businessassist@basildon.gov.uk