The idea for a Living Wage was born 20 years ago at a meeting in East London. Citizens UK brought together churches, mosques, schools and other local institutions to talk about the issues affecting their
communities. One issue came up again and again – low pay.
From that meeting a powerful movement of faith leaders, trade unions and community organisations came together to call on major employers in the capital to pay their staff a London Living Wage. 10 years later, in 2011, the movement went national. The first UK Living Wage rate was launched and set up a Living Wage Foundation to recognise and celebrate the businesses that choose to go further than the government minimum.
The real Living Wage is an independently calculated rate of pay that is based on the cost of living. At the heart of the Living Wage movement is a simple idea – that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.
It is based on the actual cost of living, taking into account the cost of housing, food, travel and other essentials. It enjoys cross party support and is paid by thousands of employers, including over one third of the FTSE 100.
Since last March, in spite of the pandemic’s impact on business, over 2,000 new employers committed to pay a real Living Wage. Many have been persuaded that it is not only the right thing to do, but that it makes good business sense, with healthier and more productive workers that are less likely to be absent or leave for another job. Today there is a network of over 8,000 accredited employers.
Two years ago, First Response Group became a Living Wage Foundation Recognised Service Provider, and has been committed to securing the real Living Wage rate to all its directly employed staff and contracted staff, one contract at a time.
Since introducing the real Living Wage, we have has seen staff turnover on key contracts reduce and we now recieve applications from candidates in a wider vicinity to a project, and from those that are more experienced and better trained because the money is so much better.
It it the right thing to do and makes good business sense.
Find out how you can join the real Living Wage Movement here
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