- Standard Life is leading the way by becoming the first private sector company to join the Living Wage Foundation's new scheme for charity funders.
- The scheme recognises organisations and companies that commit to supporting charities by funding posts at the Living Wage or above.
- As well as being the first corporate to join the scheme, Standard Life is an accredited Living Wage employer and a member of the Scottish Living Wage Accreditation Initiative Leadership Group.
Standard Life announces that it has become the first private sector company to receive recognition as a "Living Wage Friendly Funder" in the UK from the Living Wage Foundation. This is an extension to Standard Life's commitment to the Living Wage and the important role it plays in helping people and communities to prosper.
Standard Life employs over 5,000 people in the UK and all its employees receive the Living Wage as a minimum. It also ensures that all of its interns and people who are providing contracted services on a regular basis receive the Living Wage too.
Now, in becoming a "Living Wage Friendly Funder", Standard Life has also committed to helping those charities it has funding relationships with to pay the Living Wage for any grant-funded posts. This approach will apply to grants made through both Standard Life plc and the Standard Life Charitable Trust*.
Living Wage Friendly Funders support charities to pay the Living Wage through their grant-making, working together to help end low pay in the Voluntary and Community Sector and, where possible, encourage grantees to become accredited employers over time.
The Minimum Wage in the UK is currently £6.50 an hour in the UK, but the Living Wage, which is set independently and calculated in accordance to the basic cost of living in the UK, is considerably higher at £7.85, rising to £9.15 in London.
Commenting on the news, Rhys Moore, Director, Living Wage Foundation said:
We are delighted to recognise Standard Life as a Living Wage Friendly Funder. The leadership shown by Standard Life demonstrates a commitment to tackling the serious problems that low pay brings to our communities. Many organisations in the voluntary and community sectors are working hard to tackle social injustice and poverty; it's only right that those committed to these roles are afforded at least a Living Wage. We hope to see many more funders and corporates follow the lead of Standard Life and the other Living Wage Friendly Funders. At a time when half of those in poverty live in a household where someone has a job, the Living Wage is much needed by families across the UK. The Living Wage is a robust calculation that reflects the real cost of living, rewarding a hard day's work with a fair day's pay.
Sandy Begbie, Chief Operations Officer, Standard Life, said:
We are delighted to have become the first Living Wage Friendly Funder in the private sector, extending our commitment to the Living Wage and doing more to support the wider communities we work with. When we committed to paying the Living Wage to our employees, our interns and those who are regularly providing services, we knew we would like to help the charities we work with to pay their employees the Living Wage too. We have seen first-hand the real difference that paying the Living Wage can make and we would strongly urge all businesses to consider adopting the Living Wage as a way of doing business.
Peter Kelly, Director, Poverty Alliance said:
Congratulations to Standard Life on becoming a Living Wage Friendly Funder. This commitment from Standard Life will help many third sector organisations ensure that their staff too are paid the Living Wage. At a time when more than half of children in poverty in Scotland are living in a household where someone works, paying the Living Wage has never been more important. Schemes such as this allow funders to play a vital role in tackling in work poverty and we hope that more organisations will follow in Standard Life's footsteps in the coming weeks and months.
The Living Wage Friendly Funder scheme has been funded by People's Health Trust and developed in collaboration with a range of funders including the People's Health Trust, Trust for London, Barrow Cadbury, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Comic Relief.
Media enquiries
Nicki Lundy, tel: 0131 245 2737 nicki_lundy@standardlife.com
Notes to editors
- Standard Life is a leading long term investment savings business, dedicated to helping to build a more prosperous world and enabling people to have confidence in their own future. This has been important to Standard Life since it was established in Edinburgh in 1825.
- Since then, Standard Life has been growing globally. Today, the Standard Life Group employs around 6,500 people internationally - through businesses in the UK, Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.
- Standard Life is an accredited Living Wage employer and a member of the Scottish Living Wage Initiative Leadership Group.
- The Standard Life Charitable Trust (SLCT) is an independent charity established by Standard Life in 2009.
- Around 4.5 million customers worldwide trust Standard Life with their financial future and the business is responsible for administration of £302 billion of their assets (as at the end of June 2015). Standard Life supports a further 20 million customers through its Chinese and Indian joint venture businesses.
- The Standard Life Investments brand offers truly global asset management expertise with strong investment capabilities.
- Wherever Standard Life operates in the world, it is motivated by a sense of responsibility. That is what has helped it be a sustainable business over the long term. Standard Life is proud to be listed as a leader for corporate sustainability in its industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI World and DJSI Europe).
- In the UK, Standard Life offers a range of individual and group pensions, SIPPs, ISAs, annuities, life assurance, offshore bonds, investment management, wealth management, tax and estate planning services. By understanding and offering innovative products and the right support, Standard Life makes it easier for its customers and clients to plan ahead and feel more confident about the future.
- Standard Life plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and with around 1.2 million individual shareholders in over 50 countries around the world. It is one of the top 500 companies worldwide, by revenue, as listed in the 2015 Fortune Global 500.
- You can follow Standard Life Group on twitter at @StandardLifeplc
About the Living Wage
- The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. It is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK and employers choose to pay it on a voluntary basis.
- The Living Wage Foundation recognises and celebrates the leadership shown by Living Wage employers across the UK.
- It is an initiative of Citizens UK and offers accreditation to employers that pay the Living Wage, or those committed to an agreed timetable of implementation, by awarding the 'Living Wage Employer' mark. There are now 1,700 accredited Living Wage Employers across the UK.
- The Living Wage Friendly Funder scheme recognises grant makers that support charities to pay the Living Wage through their grant-making.
- You can follow the Living Wage Foundation on twitter @LivingWageUK and find out more about the Friendly Funder Scheme using #FriendlyFunders
The Friendly Funder Framework
Living Wage Friendly Funders agree to three sequential core principles:
PRINCIPLE ONE:
Become an accredited Living Wage Employer with the Living Wage Foundation. You can find out more about this and start the process here.
PRINCIPLE TWO:
Pay the Living Wage to grant funded posts or be demonstrably working towards paying this over a period of time agreed with the Living Wage Foundation.
Living Wage Friendly Funders seek to ensure that all posts which are wholly or partially funded by the funder pay the Living Wage, unless there are particular reasons for this not to happen (these might include difficulties in maintaining differentials, and the impact on other posts within the grantee's workforce "“ there is more information in our FAQs).
PRINCIPLE THREE:
Support grantees to become Living Wage Employers by signposting them towards:
- The Living Wage Foundation
- Other Living Wage Friendly Funders