London-based creative agency Pablo has introduced the ‘Pablo Living Wage’ which will see all of its employees earn a minimum of £30,000 a year in a bid to soften the cost-of-living crisis.
The move stems from data by the Office for National Statistics which suggests that young people from privileged backgrounds are five times more likely to make it in the creative industries compared with their less privileged counterparts.
By creating its living wage initiative, the indie agency is hoping to open up the industry to a more culturally and economically diverse workforce, with only 8.1% of current creative jobs filled by people from underrepresented groups.
“The average starting salary in our industry today is still only £24k. That’s little more than what we started on 15 years ago,” Pablo joint managing director, Hannah Penn said.
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“It’s totally out of touch with the demands of the industry and of life today. Low starting salaries mean workers from lower-income backgrounds, without support from the bank of mum and dad, simply cannot afford to take a job in the advertising industry.”
With the national minimum wage currently standing at £18,964 and the London living wage at £23,302.50, the £30,000 offered by Pablo delivers considerably more purchasing power than either of those benchmarks.
Pablo joint managing director, Harriet Knight added: “The beauty of advertising is that you don’t need any formal qualifications for it – it involves skills and experience that you can very much learn on the job.
“Which should make it the most inclusive and diverse sector, but the cripplingly low starting salaries make it a luxury most cannot afford. We believe actions speak louder than any words, and we wanted to put our money where our mouth is to set a new standard which we hope more will follow. Our junior staff need more support, and we want to welcome different brains into our industry in a meaningful way.”
