The Living Wage Foundation has celebrated its 6,000th accredited Living Wage Employer, with Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust joining the movement of responsible businesses paying a real Living Wage.
The commitment will see all staff working at Guy's and St Thomas receive a minimum hourly wage of at least £10.75, significantly higher than the government minimum of £8.21. The real Living Wage is an independently calculated rate that ensures all workers, including outsourced and contract staff, can meet the cost of living and earn enough to support themselves and their families.
Guy's and St Thomas is one of the largest hospital trusts in the country, with 17,100 staff. The Trust will ensure the new London Living Wage hourly rate is brought in by May 2020.
Guy's and St Thomas joins a wide range of organisations across public, private and charitable sectors paying a real Living Wage, including Everton FC, Oxfam, Burberry, Nationwide and Queen Mary University.
Katherine Chapman, Director of the Living Wage Foundation, said:
"We've seen a huge increase in the number of organisations committing to pay a real Living Wage over the past year, and we're delighted to announce such a prestigious institution as Guy's and St Thomas as our 6,000th accredited Living Wage Employer. Workers at Guy's and St Thomas do incredible, vital work, and deserve to be paid a decent wage. The Trust is showing real leadership as a responsible business by committing to pay workers a wage that covers the cost of living, and we hope to see many other NHS Trusts now follow suit."
Julie Screaton, Guy's and St Thomas' Chief People Officer, said:
"We are delighted to be the 6,000th London Living Wage employer. Our staff are our biggest asset so it's right that we pay everyone at least the London Living Wage to meet the higher costs of living in the capital. It's important that our workers and their families earn enough to afford the essentials and to save.We are also working with our third party contractors so that when contracts come up for renewal, they will also pay their staff working in the hospital at least the London Living Wage."
Cllr Ed Davie, Lambeth Council Cabinet Lead for Health and Adult Social Care, said:
"Lambeth Council has been a London Living Wage accredited employer since 2012 and since then has supported other employers in the borough to pay the rate and get accredited. We have been working with our NHS partners, including GSTT, and the Living Wage Foundation to encourage them all to become accredited. Last May we hosted a workshop at the Town Hall to give our NHS partners guidance in seeking accreditation. We are absolutely delighted that GSTT have reached this important milestone. The NHS is easily our biggest local employer and if all our hospital trusts get accredited hundreds of cleaners, porters, security guards, caterers and others will be lifted out of poverty wages. Many congratulations to GSTT and we look forward to working with them to create even more fairly paid, high quality jobs for our residents."