Made up of nine components; companies seeking to commit to the Scottish Business Pledge must pay the living wage to all direct employees over 18, be delivering on at least two other elements and be committed to achieving the rest over time (such as committing to prompt payment or investing in youth).iThere are nine components to the business pledge: Pay the Living Wage, Not using exploitative zero hours contracts, Supporting progressive workforce engagement, Investing in youth, Making progress on diversity and gender balance, Committing to an innovation programme, Pursuing international business opportunities, Playing an active role in the community, Committing to prompt payment
As at July 2019, 650 businesses had signed up to the Business Pledge – representing 0.4% of the Scotland’s registered business base.iihttps://scottishbusinesspledge.scot/information/scottish-business-pledge-statistical-overview-april-2019/ In its letter of guidance to the enterprise agencies, the Scottish Government said:
‘SE/HIE should have a key role in promoting the Business Pledge, particularly as they understand the benefits it delivers for productivity and competitiveness.