You've recently become a Living Wage Employer. What does this mean?

It’s expensive to live in the UK in 2026, and many people’s lifestyles are different to what they once were. Being accredited as a Living Wage Employer means we are being recognised – along with over 16,000 other UK organisations – for paying our staff more than the Government’s National Living Wage, validating our commitment to creating a decent standard of living for our employees. It helps us clearly communicate to our guests and wider stakeholders that our team's wellbeing is important to us.

In practice, what does this mean for the Alexandra's employees?

It confirms that we already pay all our fully trained staff the Real Living Wage of £13.45 an hour, which is 74p more than the National Living Wage for those over 21. This voluntary rate is calculated independently each year, based on what people actually need to cover the cost of living.

Improving employee wellbeing and workplace culture is clearly a priority for you. How else do you support your employees?

Our staff get complimentary access to our gym, and additional annual leave the longer they stay with us. We also offer an NHS top-up plan, which gives the team access to affordable private healthcare, including therapy sessions, dental and optical treatment, and specialist consultations. They can add family members to the plan too.

Why was building links with Woodroffe School and local young people important to you?

I think the education system can sometimes be quite closed: there's a barrier between finishing mainstream education and entering the workforce. Helping break that barrier down and supporting local young people to go into work with confidence and a sense of what they're good at matters to me. 

It also challenges the idea that hospitality is just about waiting on tables. There's a much wider range of work than that, and plenty of scope for young people to find where their own skills and interests fit.

You could be involved in the interior design of a space, helping with technology and IT, or looking after the gardens, and that's before you get to everything else hospitality involves. There's a huge amount of scope for career development in this industry.

What kind of experiences will be on offer to students at the Alexandra?

We hope to host at least one student across the coming academic year for weekly work experience, which could be anything from gardening to painting and maintenance. We want to design each placement around the student's own interests, pairing them with a relevant staff member so they can shadow them and gain something personal from the experience.

Tell us more about the bigger picture here. How has your thinking on sustainability developed over the past six months, and where is it heading?

I've been exploring B Corp certification with the help of Jake Causley, a freelance sustainability guide, to help the business continue evolving with the environment and society in mind. 

I find working towards that kind of ongoing, positive change exciting, and it matters that we keep at it. What I like about working towards B Corp is that it pushes us to keep evaluating how we do things, now and into the future.

If the Alexandra sounds like the kind of place you'd want to work, take a look at our current vacancies.

Or read more about our work on sustainability and the environment.