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Goodall Foundation explores spreading Living Wage to its projects

The Robin& Sylvia Goodall Charitable Foundation is pleased to announce that it is now an accredited Living Wage organisation and wants to see the Living Wage paid in its projects.

The Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at the Goodall Foundation-an education charity with an international reach , regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors, receive a minimum hourly wage of £8.45, and £9.75 in London. Both of these rates are significantly higher than the statutory minimum for over 25s of £7.50 per hour introduced in April 2017.

The real Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently, updated annually and calculated according to the real cost of living.

As a new small organisation with a simple, lean infrastructure, it was a simple and smooth process to becoming accredited. But beyond its own accreditation as an employer, the Goodall Foundation is also exploring how to roll out its Living Wage commitment beyond, to its wider network.

“We want to find ways to support the projects that we fund to pay the Living Wage to their own employees,” explained Eugenie Teasley, the Foundation’s CEO.

“However we appreciate that for other larger or older organisations this can be a complex transition for a variety of understandable factors. One of our four charitable objects is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of other charities and charitable projects, and we believe firmly that encouraging the Living Wage across our partners is one valuable way to achieve this.”

Employers choose to pay the real Living Wage on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage enjoys cross party political support.

Katherine Chapman, Director Living Wage Foundation, said: “It’s fantastic that organisations like the Robin & Sylvia Goodall Charitable Foundation are joining the Living Wage movement as an accredited employer and it’s even better that it will be encouraging partners to come on board too.

“The Goodall Foundation is joining our network of over 3,000 leading Living Wage employers, ranging from well-known national companies such as Nationwide, Aviva and KPMG, to other local Brighton organisations including Café Plenty, the Big Lemon Bus Company and even the Brighton & Hove City Council itself. These organisations recognise that paying a wage based on the cost of living is not only the right thing to do for employees but there are also tangible benefits to the organisation like better retention and staff motivation - it leads to stronger charities.”

While encouraging partners to discover whether they can adopt the Living Wage, the Goodall Foundation is also actively approaching local Living Wage employers for any services they need in the interim, from printing to transport, and even to where they hold meetings outside of the office.

About the Living Wage Foundation

The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The real Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK. Employers choose to pay this wage on a voluntary basis. The real Living Wage enjoys cross party support.

The Living Wage for outside London is currently £8.45 per hour. The London Living Wage is currently £9.75 per hour. This figure covers all boroughs in Greater London. These figures are calculated annually by the Resolution Foundation and overseen by the Living Wage Commission, based on the best available evidence on living standards in London and the UK.

The Living Wage Foundation recognises and celebrates the leadership shown by Living Wage employers across the UK. There are currently over 3000 accredited employers. We are an initiative of Citizens UK. We believe that a hard day's work deserves a fair day's pay and support responsible employers to voluntarily pay the Living Wage so their employees can earn enough to meet the cost of living.

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, as of April 2017 is £7.50 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.

About the Robin & Sylvia Goodall Charitable Foundation The Goodall Foundation’s vision is to empower people to change their lives for the better both in the UK and across the globe. https://www.facebook.com/TheGoodallFdn/

www.livingwage.org.uk

Posted on 5 Apr, 2017