We're on track to double Living Wage employers in the borough
In our most recent Corporate Strategy, we made it one of our priorities to double the number of Living Wage employers to 100. This reaffirmed our commitment to fair pay after we became the joint-first local authority to become an accredited Living Wage employer in 2012.
The real Living Wage is the amount calculated by the Living Wage Foundation, based on what people need to meet the cost of living. It is £10.55 an hour in London (the London Living Wage) – nearly £3 higher than the Government’s National Living Wage.
Recently, Councillor Joe Dromey, Cabinet Member for Jobs and Skills, visited two of the latest local businesses to adopt the London Living Wage to thank them for their commitment to fair pay, and to hear about the difference the Living Wage makes to their business.
Haplo
Haplo is an information management company based in Brockley that employs 12 people.
Jennifer Summers, Managing Director of Haplo, said, ‘Becoming a Living Wage Employer was an important way for us to show that we value the hard work of everyone who is helping to make our business a success. And the business rates discount was a big advantage for a small business.’
Poetry Translation Centre
Established in 2004, the Poetry Translation Centre aims to introduce new audiences to leading poets from around the world. They hold regular workshops where poets, translators and poetry enthusiasts work towards new English versions of poems, starting with a literal or close translation. It employs five members of staff.
Astrid Alben, Chief Executive Officer of the Poetry Translation Centre, said, ‘We are delighted to be part of the Living Wage campaign – we value every member of our team and they deserve to earn a wage that reflects real-life living costs. We are committed to offering at least the London Living Wage at every level of our organisation, including our internship programme, which we think is vital to ensuring wider access to careers in the arts.’
Our support for Living Wage employers
In 2016, we introduced a business rate discount to encourage employers to pay the Living Wage. Under this scheme, employers who get accredited by the Living Wage Foundation get a one-off discount on their business rate bill equivalent to five times the cost of accreditation. This is our way of rewarding employers who do the right thing and commit to fair pay.
Since the introduction of the discount, the number of Living Wage employers has risen from eight to 77, a rise of more than 900%. Over 5,000 people now work at Living Wage employers across Lewisham. However, our borough still suffers from high levels of low pay. Almost one in four (24%) people working in Lewisham earn below the Living Wage – that’s 13,000 jobs on poverty pay in the borough.
Cllr Dromey said, ‘It’s fantastic to see more local businesses becoming living wage employers. Paying the Living Wage is not just good for employees; it’s good for business too. So we look forward to seeing many more businesses joining us in becoming Living Wage employers.’