July Budget 2015: Pressure mounts on government to back a living wage July 5, 2015 Raising the minimum wage to the so-called “living wage” would lift 6m people out of poverty and generate more than £4bn of additional revenue, according to a new report out today from KPMG. The living wage, as defined by the Living Wage Foundation charity, is £7.85 per hour nationally and £9.15 in London. The national [...]
Why a compulsory living wage is not the best way to help society’s poorest June 8, 2015 The Living Wage Foundation – which lobbies employers to pay £9.15 an hour in London and £7.85 elsewhere – has never called for statutory implementation of its cause. It considers itself to be a pragmatic civil society movement, encouraging firms to pay their low-paid workers enough to live comfortably. But the campaign has been hijacked [...]
More shoppers are supporting living wages April 26, 2015 Public sentiment toward the living wage campaign – the campaign to get employers to pay workers a calculated wage higher than the minimum wage – is on the climb. A survey published today by financial services firm KPMG found that seven out of 10 UK adults would consciously shop in favour of a retail chain [...]
London mayor Boris Johnson backs paid internships in London at national minimum wage, “if not the London Living Wage” March 5, 2015 London mayor Boris Johnson has backed calls to take action on the scourge of unpaid internships blighting the prospects of young people in the capital. It's understood to be the first time the mayor has outlined his position on the issue, saying he supported paid internships and encouraged businesses employing interns to pay at least [...]
Petition prompts Premier League to advise clubs on living wage February 27, 2015 The Premier League has promised it will speak to its clubs about adopting the living wage, but insists its hands are tied when it comes to enforcement. After a petition for all Premier League staff to paid the living wage was signed over 62,000 times, the group agreed to meet with its creator [...]
Chelsea FC becomes first team to pay the living wage of £9.15 an hour in London December 11, 2014 Chelsea has become the first professional football club to be accredited as a Living Wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation, the club said yesterday. The accreditation means that from January, Chelsea will pay all its directly employed staff a living wage – £9.15 an hour in London and £7.85 outside the capital. The rate [...]
Boris Johnson praises Chelsea for becoming first Premier League club to adopt living wage December 11, 2014 London mayor Boris Johnson has praised Chelsea for becoming the first Premier League club to sign up to the living wage. The current league leaders have been accredited by the Living Wage Foundation which advises companies pay staff a minimum of £9.15 per hour in London and £7.85 per hour everywhere else. Workers [...]
Archbishop of York urges UK businesses to adopt living wage to tackle income inequality November 10, 2014 It is time for UK businesses to start supporting the living wage, the Archbishop of York argued to Britain’s business leaders today. Archbishop John Sentamu delivered a stern and simple message to the Confederation of British Industry annual conference: “Work must pay.” The living wage, which is set at £9.15 per hour in [...]
Why significantly extending the Living Wage is not the best way to help the poorest June 24, 2014 JOHN Sentamu, the charismatic archbishop of York, has again thrown his weight behind the recommendations of the Living Wage Commission he chairs. Not to be confused with the government’s Low Pay Commission, which recommends the statutory minimum wage, the Living Wage Commission is a private pressure group funded by trade unions and faith organisations. Its [...]
Beware the unintended consequences of making a Living Wage mandatory November 4, 2013 IT’S LIVING Wage week, and many are endorsing the principle of raising low pay, whether by boosting the minimum wage, or by forcing local authorities and pressuring other private employers to pay the Living Wage. It’s an attractive proposition, advocated by politicians as varied as Ed Miliband and Boris Johnson. But it is worth pausing [...]