Living Wage Employer – Why get Accredited?

The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate that is voluntarily paid by nearly 6,000 UK businesses who believe their staff deserve a fair day's pay for a hard day's work. These employers pay the real Living Wage which is higher than the government minimum and they also make sure all their employees in London receive the London Living Wage. Just Global HR Services Limited signed up to the Accreditation in 2019 and this year will renew again to show their support for paying the real Living Wage as an employer.

In 2016 the government introduced the National Living Wage which is currently £8.72 per hour for over 25’s, however, the Living Wage Foundation Living Wage is calculated based on actual living costs and currently stands at £9.30 per hour in the UK and £10.75 in London.

However, the government's 'national living wage' is not calculated according to what employees and their families need to live. 

Instead, it is based on a target to reach 66% of median earnings by 2024. Under current forecasts, this means a rise to £10.50 per hour by 2024. For under 25s, the minimum wage rates also take into account affordability for employers.

The real Living Wage rates are higher because they are independently-calculated based on what people need to get by. This is a fairer calculation and one that all employers should be looking at to ensure all their employees earn a wage that meets the costs of living, not just the government minimum.

Since 2016 over 180,000 employees have received a pay rise as a result of the Living Wage campaign and they have a broad range of employers accredited with the Foundation including 1/3 of the FTSE 100 and big household names including ITV, GOOGLE, IKEA, Everton FC and Chelsea FC.

The Living Wage Foundation is the organisation at the heart of the independent movement of businesses and people that campaign for the idea that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. They celebrate and recognise the leadership of responsible employers who choose to go further and pay a real Living Wage based on the cost of living, not just the government minimum.

They offer accreditation to employers that pay the independently-calculated Living Wage rates to all staff in London and the UK, or those committed to an agreed timetable of implementation, by awarding the Living Wage Employer Mark. If you haven’t yet signed up then here is the website link

https://www.livingwage.org.uk/

Just Global HR Services are proud to receive the accreditation and to support that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.

Sam Brown