Pay equality for wages and additional hours compensation
In the dynamic world of architecture, a growing number of firms are prioritising fairness and work-life balance in their employment practices. Here are some notable examples:
1. Exploration Architecture's principal regularly reduces his salary to ensure fair salary levels for the rest of the staff, and the firm has a salary ratio between the highest and lowest paid members capped at 3:1, averaged over five-year periods.
2. JTP is dedicated to paying the Living Wage in London and beyond, and the firm has introduced initiatives to protect employee work-life balance, including a no out of hours/weekend email policy and close monitoring of overtime.
3. Studio Knight Stokoe operates a no overtime culture, promoting a healthy work-life balance, and includes salary information in job adverts for transparency and fairness.
4. We Made That actively tracks overtime and had 1.67% overtime in 2023 compared to the industry benchmark of 23%. The firm is London Living Wage accredited and promotes a healthy work-life balance.
5. Collective Works champions a zero-overtime culture since its inception and has a salary differential among team members that is around 3:1.
6. Studio Bark operates a nine-day fortnight with every second Friday off for all staff, pays the London Living Wage, and caps salary ratios at 1:3, surpassing this target with a closer salary level among their team. The firm's no-overtime culture is written into their Studio Manual.
7. Tonic Architecture offers a flexible working environment, including remote work and a four-day working week, and consistently exceeds the Living Wage.
8. Elliott Wood has made efforts to tackle the overtime culture through changes in working hours and the introduction of ME days, and commits to ensuring all staff receive the London Living Wage and carries out an annual benchmarking exercise and gender pay gap analysis.
9. Architype operates a time off in lieu system and actively monitors overtime to control its occurrence, and is a Real Living Wage employer with a Pay Review Body to establish fair and transparent salary bandings.
10. Gale & Snowden Architects have tested a four-day working week with no change to pay or working hours to improve work-life balance, and now operate a 34-hour week with flexibility for staff as to how they wish to work.
While some information about other firms such as Tonic Architecture, Gale & Snowden Architects, Elliott Wood, and Collective Works was not available in the current search data, it is clear that many architecture firms are committed to creating fair and balanced workplaces. These practices not only benefit employees but also contribute to a more productive and creative work environment.
- Architecture firms like Tonic Architecture and Gale & Snowden Architects, in addition to prioritizing fairness and work-life balance, also strive to exceed the Living Wage.
- Firms such as Elliott Wood and Collective Works have implemented initiatives to control overtime and ensure fair salary structures through practices like gender pay gap analysis.
- In the realm of lifestyle, architecture firms like Tonic Architecture offer flexible working arrangements, including remote work and a four-day working week.
- Beyond work practices, Architeype and Studio Bark have taken steps toensure a healthy work-life balance, with Studio Bark offering a nine-day fortnight and Architeype a time off in lieu system.
