Rethinking accounting for employees from living wage perspectives

This Chapter seeks to demonstrate how accounting for employees can be complemented by research on the living wage to reveal potential new ways to account for the everyday life of employees and their contribution to the community. In response to significant changes in economic and social circumstances given uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 organisations may make changes to their remuneration policies or introduce new ones. At times of economic downturn such as being experienced now, there is arguably an emphasis on the cost of doing business and the how value is added. Consideration of employee welfare can start to get lost in issues of time, quality, throughput, resource consumption, productivity and more. It is important to remember the broad body of research on accounting for employees that can help us to "think people" and try to build a more sustainable future. One way to improve pay and working conditions is to build on evidence from the living wage movement that emphasises the importance of considering employee vulnerability and health and welfare, alongside pay. Taken together, accounting from a living wage perspective opens up a pluralist agenda which highlights at a minimum views of employees and employers as a basis for action.