Living-Wage

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Community Foundation celebrates commitment to Real Living Wage

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The Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland is now accredited as a Living Wage Employer. Our Living Wage commitment will see everyone receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.50 in the UK (the equivalent is £10.85 in London). Both rates are significantly higher than the Government minimum for over 23s, which currently stands at £8.91 per hour. In the North East, nearly a quarter of all jobs (22%) pay less than the real Living Wage – around 213,000 jobs.  

Rob Williamson, Chief Executive at the Community Foundation said:  

“It is important for us to commit to pay the real Living Wage which means fair pay for working for us. We see this as part of our wider commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and hope we can encourage others to take a similar step.” 

The real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to the costs of living. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their staff earn a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum.  

Laura Gardiner, Director, Living Wage Foundation said: “We’re delighted that the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland has joined the movement of over 7,000 responsible employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on. 

“They join thousands of small businesses, as well as household names such as Burberry, Barclays, Everton Football Club and many more. These businesses recognise that paying the real Living Wage is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like the Community Foundation, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.”