This week, the Living Wage Foundation (LWF) and ShareAction published 'Investing in the Living Wage', a new toolkit for responsible investors. The toolkit has been designed by experts in fair pay and responsible investment as a practical guide for investors to consider investment in Living Wage Employers as part of their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies. You can watch a recording of the online launch of the toolkit here: part 1 and part 2.
As the COVID-19 crisis continues, we have seen the increased vulnerability of those in low-paid and insecure work; many of whom have been working on the frontline to keep the country moving. As the economy recovers, we are encouraging investors to place the fair treatment of workers front and centre in their sustainable investment strategies. As well as being the right thing to do, investing in companies that pay the real Living Wage has the potential to generate health and sustainable returns for clients, with emerging evidence showing both the range of business benefits experienced by accredited employers, and the possibility of improved financial performance.
The toolkit includes a wide range of useful information for investors interested in this area of sustainability, including:
- An introduction to both the global and UK Living Wage contexts, and the LWF's Living Wage Employer accreditation scheme
- The importance of the Living Wage in tackling inequality and in-work poverty
- The business case for the Living Wage, including the risks of poor-quality employment
- Industry specific challenges and opportunities to adopt the Living Wage
- How and why to engage companies on the Living Wage
- How to get involved in the Living Wage movement, and go further with Living Hours
The toolkit also includes case studies from both successful Living Wage Employers and investors already active in the area, as well as the latest academic studies and worker testimony on the positive impact receiving the Living Wage has had on their professional and personal lives.
We'd encourage all investors reading the toolkit to get in touch with both ShareAction and the Living Wage Foundation to understand how they can best contribute to this movement. This may be through, for example, joining ShareActions's Good Work Investor Coalition, supporting further research into the business benefits of the Living Wage, or themselves becoming accredited Living Wage Employers, ready to lead the way in fair, socially-minded investment.
To get in touch, please visit/contact:
The Living Wage Foundation is grateful to"¯Aberdeen Standard Investments, from whom it received funding to support the creation of the toolkit.
INVESTING IN THE LIVING WAGE
Read the toolkit designed to help investors in UK markets understand how and why to encourage their portfolio companies to adopt the real Living Wage.
