Introducing the new members of the Edinburgh Fair Work Action Group

The Edinburgh Fair Work Action Group is a collaboration of employers who have been working together since 2021 to grow the Fair Work and Living Wage movements in the city. In this time, we have seen great progress in the city with the number of real Living Wage accredited employers having increased by over 350 organisations. This means that over 200,000 workers are now employed by accredited organisations, this equates to over 50% of jobs in Edinburgh.

 But it is critical that we continue to grow this work further. Around 89,000 people still live in poverty in Edinburgh and 61% of those living in poverty are in a household where at least one adult is working. The Edinburgh Poverty Commission reconfirmed the important role of access to fair and secure employment as a route out of poverty in their 2025 update report. The commission also commented that the next five years need to be a period of accelerated delivery if the city is to meet its target to end poverty by 2030.

That is why, we have decided to grow the membership of our group to increase the number of committed local partners and fair work champions into our collaboration. We are excited to welcome four new members to our group, who represent a range of sectors and bring a wealth of experience of implementing fair work practices.

Andrea Ramsey (Director of Carrick Home Services)

Andrea is Director of Carrick Home Services, a family run care at home provider based in the east of Edinburgh. Carrick Home Services has been an accredited Living Wage employer for over 6 years and has built fair work principles into its company culture and values.

Andrea is passionate about driving the fair work and Living Wage agendas and growing these movements, particularly in the care sector. Working in this sector can be challenging, so paying carers a fair wage is critical to support the wellbeing of employees and to ensure that they have enough to live one. Andrea is a powerful advocate for this both in Edinburgh, and across Scotland.

Andrea brings extensive experience to the action group of how to practically implement fair work principles within a sector that is heavily influenced by national and local government policies and funding. She aims to use her knowledge and connections to grow fair work in Edinburgh.

Paul Adderley (Founder and Director of Beyond Green)

After 10 years with Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Paul founded Beyond Green, a consultancy that focuses on developing deep collaborative partnerships with the organisations it works with. Beyond Green’s mission is to inspire others to make a difference to people, planet and profits by building knowledge, skills and capacity, their clients are better equipped to embark on the Net Zero Journey and become resilient as we tackle the climate emergency.   

Beyond Green is an accredited Living Wage employer, achieved BCorp status in 2018 and became a Disability Confident Leader in 2023. As founder, Paul has hands-on experience of putting fair work practices at the heart of business operations to ensure people from whatever background can flourish.  

Through his advisory work, Paul also understands life at the coal face for many SMEs around the opportunities and challenges other organisations face, particularly in the construction and hospitality sectors. Paul brings this experience to his work with the action group and aims to harness his networks to support and grow the fair work movement in Edinburgh.

Abigail Sharp (Senior Researcher at The Lines Between)

Abi has been working at The Lines Between for five years as a Senior Researcher. The Lines Between is a social research agency based in Edinburgh that aims to harness research, evaluation and consultation analysis to create positive change for communities and marginalised groups.

In her role at The Lines Between Abi has delivered research across a wide range of policy areas including employability, poverty, equality and community development. Abi is also the company’s Fair Work and Community Benefits Manager, which involves promoting fair employment practices and employee wellbeing, and ensuring that organisational activity has a positive social impact. As part of this role, she has enrolled the organisation in the Living Hours accreditation and is leading progress towards adopting the Bereavement Charter Mark. This is a scheme which helps workplaces to be informed and prepared to support colleagues when dealing with loss.

As a life‑long Edinburgh resident representing a local SME, Abi has joined the Fair Work Action Group to help find solutions to tackle in-work poverty in the city and share practical insights from an organisation that prioritises fair work.

Shannon Emerson (Head of HR at Heart of Midlothian)

Shannon is Head of HR at Hearts, which is Scotland’s only Living Wage accredited football club. In this role, Shannon has had hands-on experience of putting fair pay into practice in a real and practical way and has worked to make sure that everyone who works with Hearts - regardless of age, role, or contract type - earns a wage that reflects the real cost of living in the city.

Working to achieve fair pay in the industry, and the wider city, and valuing people are core values of the club, and Shannon has directly seen the benefits of this approach. This includes how paying fairly helps the club to attract and keep good people, supports wellbeing, and builds a stronger sense of pride across the workplace.

The football industry is a very unique space, with specific challenges that can make implementing fair work practices and committing to the Living Wage difficult. Shannon brings in-depth knowledge and experience of this to the group and can support positive discussions about how to navigate solutions, rooted in her own experience of applying Living Wage principles to a wide mix of roles and working patterns at Hearts.

Shannon brings practical experience of what it actually takes to become and remain a Living Wage employer, an honest understanding of the challenges involved, and a commitment to keeping fairness and respect at the centre of how we treat people at work to the action group.