The Living Wage Champion Awards will be held in Cardiff for the first time this year in recognition of the incredible growth of the Living Wage movement in the city, and within Wales more widely.
The Living Wage Champion Awards celebrate the individuals and organisations who have made an outstanding contribution to the Living Wage movement. The awards recognise the efforts of those across different sectors - from Health and Social care to Hospitality, and from those championing the Living Wage in their local areas to national businesses – it celebrates the people across our network who have created real change and gone above and beyond to champion the Living Wage and grow the movement.
Each year we welcome submissions from our network of over 14,000 accredited businesses from which we announce a shortlist and winners at an awards ceremony in the summer. The ceremony this year will take place at Techniquest Science Discovery Centre in Cardiff Bay on the 11th of July.
Nominations for the awards are open to all accredited real Living Wage employers until 22nd March.
Cardiff is proud of its status as a Living Wage City with over 75,000 people in the city now working for one of the 215 accredited Living Wage Employers in the area, bringing an extra £75m into the local economy. There is also a great deal of work happening across Wales to tackle low pay and insecure work – such as the Welsh Government’s commitment to pay social care workers across Wales the real Living Wage and the fact that all Universities in Wales are accredited.
Linda Burbage, Business Services Director at Techniquest, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be hosting the Living Wage awards this year and are looking forward to making all of the nominees feel welcome at Techniquest, at what promises to be a very exciting event. As a Real Living Wage employer ourselves, it’s particularly pleasing to have been selected as the host for the event and to be so closely involved with the celebration.
Being a small team, it’s important to us that we do the best that we can for all of our employees even though, as a charity, our limited resources makes that challenging at times. We recognise how hard it is for those having to make ends meet while at entry-level salary points, particularly while the cost of living crisis continues to bite. Being a Real Living Wage employer and providing at least a small increment above the legal minimum hourly rate is something that we are happy to be committed to, as we understand that even a small increase can make a big difference over time.”
Katherine Chapman, Director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: “We are delighted to be hosting this year’s Champion Awards at the Discovery Centre in Cardiff. The Champion Awards are always a special night and a great opportunity to celebrate the work being done by our network of employers to promote the real Living Wage across the country.”
For more information about the 2024 awards and how to apply see our webpage: Living Wage Champion Awards 2024 | Living Wage Foundation
To find out more about the Living Wage in Wales visit their website.