The London Community Foundation, the London Borough of Croydon and Cloudesley all sign up to help end low pay in the voluntary sector.
- Three new grant-making organisations are leading the way by joining the Living Wage Foundation's scheme for charity funders.
- The scheme recognises funders that commit to supporting charities by funding posts at the Living Wage or above.
The London Community Foundation, the London Borough of Croydon and Cloudesley have all received recognition as Living Wage Friendly Funders.
As part of their commitment to being Friendly Funders, these three organisations will support charities to pay the Living Wage to any grant-funded staff posts.
Living Wage Friendly Funders work together to end low pay in the Voluntary and Community sector. Thousands of charities and funders have already embraced the Living Wage across the UK, but low pay remains a real challenge across the sector.
Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation said:
The leadership shown by the London Community Foundation, the London Borough of Croydon and Cloudesley as Living Wage Friendly Funders 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 the 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.
There are now 16 funders signed up to this scheme including People's Health Trust, Trust for London, Barrow Cadbury, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Comic Relief, the London Borough of Islington, City Bridge Trust and Lloyds Bank Foundation.
The Minimum Wage in the UK is currently £7.20 an hour in the UK, but the UK Living Wage, which is set independently and calculated in accordance to the basic cost of living in the UK, is considerably higher at £8.45, rising to £9.75 in London.
Russell Delew, CEO, The London Community Foundation, said:
We're delighted to become a Friendly Funder and have done so in recognition of the hard work carried out by the employees of organisations we fund. These organisations are the heartbeat of London's vibrant communities and without their dedicated employees, London would not be the great city it is. We believe passionately that organisations should pay their staff at a level they can live on, to ensure that the fantastic work of London's community groups, charities and social enterprises can continue into the future.
Councillor Hamida Ali, Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety and Justice, London Borough of Croydon, said:
We are very proud to be only the third local authority to receive Living Wage Friendly Funder status. Becoming a Living Wage employer was a hugely important manifesto pledge for the administration and we have continued that commitment through our recent commissioning process with the voluntary sector where paying or working towards paying the Living Wage was a key principle. We are now working hard to encourage all employers in Croydon to pay the Living Wage. More than one in four of our residents earns less than the living wage - which is higher than the national average - and we're doing everything we can to see all of our residents take home a fair wage.
Phillip Everett, Finance Manager, Cloudesley, said:
Cloudesley has provided support in Islington for 500 years and is pleased to have joined the Living Wage Friendly Funder network as a further part of its commitment to the Borough.
John Hume, Chief Executive, People's Health Trust, said:
People's Health Trust is pleased to welcome The London Community Foundation, the London Borough of Croydon and Cloudesley as the latest charitable funders to join the Living Wage Friendly Funder network. By becoming part of this rapidly growing scheme, they have demonstrated their commitment, as a funder, to working towards ending low pay in the Voluntary and Community sector. We want to see the Living Wage become the norm, and believe that funding organisations can lead the way in making this happen within the Voluntary Sector.
ENDS
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Notes to editors
About the UK Living Wage
- The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK. Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage enjoys cross party support.
- The London Living Wage is currently £9.75 per hour. The UK Living Wage for outside of London is currently £8.45 per hour. These figures are set by the Resolution Foundation and overseen by the independent Living Wage Commission.
- The Living Wage Foundation recognises and celebrates the leadership shown by Living Wage employers across the UK. There are currently nearly 3,000 accredited employers. We are an initiative of Citizens UK. We believe that work should be the surest way out of poverty.
- The Living Wage Friendly Funder scheme recognises grant makers that support charities to pay the Living Wage through their grant-making: https://dev.livingwage.org.uk/about-friendly-funders
- There are now 16 Living Wage Friendly Funders.
- You can follow the Living Wage Foundation on twitter @LivingWageUK https://twitter.com/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 at livingwage.org.uk
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
- Other Living Wage VCS organisations in their area