DILIGENCE CELEBRATES LIVING WAGE COMMITMENT
The Living Wage Foundation is pleased to announce that Diligence (PM) Services Ltd has today accredited as a Living Wage employer.
The Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at Diligence, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors; receive a minimum hourly wage of £8.45 - significantly higher than the national minimum wage of £6.95 and the new minimum wage premium for over 25s of £7.20 per hour introduced this April.
The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living using the ‘Minimum Income Standard’ for the UK. Decisions about what to include in this standard are set by the public; it is a social consensus about what people need to make ends meet.
“Diligence have chosen to become a Living Wage accredited employer because people matter, and we want all our employees to know they are valued and that their work is important” explained Alison Scrivener, Operations Manager.
Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage enjoys cross party support, with public backing from the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.
Living Wage Foundation Director, Katherine Chapman said: “We are delighted to welcome Diligence to the Living Wage movement as an accredited employer.
“The best employers are voluntarily signing up to pay the Living Wage now. The Living Wage is a robust calculation that reflects the real cost of living, rewarding a hard day’s work with a fair day’s pay.
“We have accredited nearly 3,000 leading employers, including Diligence, ranging from independent printers, bookshops and breweries, to well-known companies such as Nationwide, Aviva and SSE. These businesses recognise that clinging to the National Living Wage is not good for business. Customers expect better than that."
ENDS
Media Contact
Living Wage
Shazia Ejaz, shazia.ejaz@citizensuk.org
Or
Esmat Jeraj, 07809608786, esmat.jeraj@citizensuk.org
Notes to Editors
About the Living Wage Foundation
The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK. Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage enjoys cross party support.
The London Living Wage is currently £9.75 per hour. The UK Living Wage for outside of London is currently £8.45 per hour. These figures are set by the Resolution Foundation and overseen by the independent Living Wage Commission.
The Living Wage Foundation recognises and celebrates the leadership shown by Living Wage employers across the UK. There are currently nearly 3,000 accredited employers. We are an initiative of Citizens UK. We believe that work should be the surest way out of poverty.
We receive guidance and advice from the Living Wage Advisory Council. The Foundation is supported by our principal partners: Aviva; IKEA; Joseph Rowntree Foundation; KPMG; Linklaters; Nationwide; Nestle; Resolution Foundation; Oxfam; Trust for London; and Queen Mary University of London.
What about the Government’s national living wage?
In July 2015 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the UK Government would introduce a compulsory ‘national living wage’. This new government rate is a minimum wage premium rate for staff over 25 years old. It was introduced in April 2016 and the rate is £7.20 per hour. The rate is separate to the Living Wage rate calculated by the Living Wage Foundation. The government rate is based on median earnings while the Living Wage Foundation rate is calculated according to the cost of living.
The National Minimum Wage
(including the ‘national living wage’)
The Living Wage
The legal minimum an employee can earn in an hour. Employers break the law if they fail to pay this rate
A voluntary rate that employers commit to pay in order to go above and beyond. The Living Wage Employer Mark is a sign of best practice
The ‘national living wage’ rate is set at £7.20 an hour The current UK Living Wage is £8.45 an hour.
The current London Living Wage is £9.75 an hour
This will increase each year, with the aim of reaching 60% of the median wage across the country by 2020 (this would mean around £9 an hour but the Low Pay Commission will consider what the market can bear)
This will increase in line with the cost of living with increases announced in Living Wage Week every year
Different rates apply depending on the age of the employee. The ‘national living wage’ is for over 25s only
The Living Wage is the same for all employees over the age of 18
Set by the Low Pay Commission Set by the Living Wage Foundation
Based on an estimation of what the market can bear Based on the cost of living
The rates are the same right across the UK There is a separate rate for London to reflect the higher cost of living in the Capital