Wee Chicks

Wee Chicks is a Belfast-based social enterprise and newly registered charity providing affordable, high-quality childcare and family wellbeing programmes. Our mission is to “Build Stronger Minds for a Healthier Future” by supporting children’s early development, empowering parents, and strengthening communities. 

We operate across Belfast and surrounding areas, delivering crèche, after-school, holiday clubs, and parent programmes such as My Child & Me. As a social enterprise, all profits are reinvested into local community initiatives and early years development projects. Wee Chicks currently employs 8 staff members in our teams.

Motivation for Living Wage Accreditation

Wee Chicks accredited as a Living Wage Employer to demonstrate our commitment to valuing and investing in our people. We believe the real Living Wage is a cornerstone of fairness, dignity, and sustainability in the childcare sector—one that often faces low pay and high emotional demands. 

Paying the Living Wage reflects our values of empowerment and wellbeing, ensuring our team feels respected, secure, and motivated. It’s also a way to lead by example within the social enterprise and childcare community, showing that doing good for people and running a viable business can go hand in hand.

Implementation Process

We first conducted a wage audit to ensure all employees met or exceeded the real Living Wage, then updated contracts and pay structures accordingly. Communication and transparency were key—staff were informed early and involved in discussions around the change. Accreditation paperwork was completed through the Living Wage Foundation, with Board approval confirming our commitment. 

The process took approximately six weeks from start to finish. We used this time to align payroll systems, budgets, and policies to reflect our ongoing pledge to fair pay, sustainability, and ethical employment.

Additional Workplace Changes

Alongside Living Wage accreditation, we reviewed staff wellbeing, training, and professional development. We introduced enhanced support such as staff wellbeing sessions, flexible working options, and funded training opportunities. We also reviewed our recruitment and equality policies to ensure inclusivity and progression routes were clear. 

The process created space for reflection and a renewed focus on valuing our team’s contributions, ensuring staff felt heard, supported, and part of our shared mission. These positive changes helped build morale, and strengthen Wee Chicks’ culture as a nurturing, people-first organisation.

Challenges and Barriers

The main challenge was balancing increased staffing costs with sustainability, especially as a community-focused childcare organisation. We overcame this through careful budgeting, phased implementation, and exploring new income streams such as social value partnerships, grants, and family wellbeing programmes. 

Our Board and leadership team reviewed long-term financial planning to ensure the Living Wage could be maintained without compromising services. By clearly linking fair pay to improved staff retention and service quality, we reframed the challenge as an investment rather than a cost—strengthening both our organisation and our social impact.

Benefits of Living Wage Accreditation

Becoming a Living Wage Employer has boosted staff morale, should have a positive impact on retention, and recruitment. Employees report feeling more valued, improving overall wellbeing and motivation. Since accreditation, Parents and partners also view Wee Chicks as an ethical, community-driven organisation. This recognition has strengthened trust and partnerships with funders and local agencies, helping us deliver even greater social impact. Ultimately, it’s proven that paying fairly leads to happier staff, stronger teams, and better outcomes for children and families.

"Our team is the heartbeat of Wee Chicks. Paying the real Living Wage is about fairness and respect—it’s a promise that we’ll always value the people who make our mission possible. When we look after our staff, they can better look after our children and families.” 

– Kelly Molloy, CEO, Wee Chicks