London Living Wage
London Living Wage
Paying the London Living Wage (currently £14.80 per hour) covers the costs of living in London.
We were one of the first UK local authorities to become an accredited living wage employer. We are encouraging other Lewisham-based employers to become London Living Wage employers, to give employees in Lewisham a wage to cover the costs of living in London.
Why become a London Living Wage employer?
Paying the London Living Wage has many good effects on a business and its people, such as:
- increase in volume and quality of staff work
- lower employee absence
- happier and more adaptable staff
- better retention of staff
- increased ability of staff to provide for themselves and their families
- increased consumer awareness of the commitment of businesses to being ethical employers.
How to become a London Living Wage employer
Your Lewisham-based businesses can become a London Living Wage employer by registering interest with The Living Wage Foundation.
Accredited London Living Wage employers in the borough
There are 95 accredited employers of the London Living Wage in the borough impacting 7605 employees.
Accredited London Living Wage employers in the borough
- A&E Elkins Ltd
- Action for Refugees in Lewisham (AFRIL)
- Amersham Vale Practice
- ARCHPOINT SERVICE LTD
- Art in Perpetuity Trust (APT)
- Arts Network
- Barclays Bank PLC - Blackheath
- Barclays Bank PLC - Brockley
- Barclays Bank PLC - Catford
- Barclays Bank PLC - Deptford
- Barclays Bank PLC - Forest Hill
- Barclays Bank PLC - Sydenham
- Barclays Bank PLC - 93 Lewisham High Street
- Bellingham Community Project Ltd
- BIOHM
- Bloomologie Ltd
- Blue Tiger
- Brewers Decorator Centres - Lewisham
- Bridgewater Roofing Contractors Ltd
- Brighter Horizons
- Browns of Brockley
- CAM Specialist Support Limited
- Circle Community - Lewisham
- Citizens Advice Lewisham
- Co-operative Bank - Lewisham
- Cooper's Bakehouse
- Deptford
- Elkins Construction - Head Office
- Flints Theatrical Chandlers
- Foundation For FutureLondon
- Geek School Tutoring - Catford Centre
- Geek School Tutoring Limited
- Goldsmiths Community Association
- Goldsmiths Students' Union
- Goldsmiths, University of London
- Grant Saw Solicitors LLP - Blackheath
- Greenspot Cleaning Services Ltd
- Heart n Soul
- Horniman Museum and Gardens
- Kaleidoscope Health and Care
- Leathersellers' Federation of Schools
- Lewisham Irish Community Centre
- Lewisham Local
- Lewisham Plus Bromley Credit Union
- Lewisham Plus Bromley Credit Union - Greenman
- Lewisham Plus Bromley Credit Union - Sydenham
- Lewisham Refugee And Migrant Network
- Lewisham Speaking Up
- Light Motif
- Lloyds Banking Group - Lewisham
- Lloyds Banking Group - 12 Sydenham Road
- London Borough of Lewisham
- MAD LEAP CIC
- Macauley Smith Ltd
- Manned Camera Limited
- Masher Brothers Ltd
- Mission Housing Ltd
- Mont58 Coffee
- Mr Jones Watches
- My Aerial Home
- Nomase Care Ltd
- Novel Pubs Ltd.
- One in Four (London)
- Oxfam Shop - Blackheath
- Packfleet
- People's choice transport
- Phoenix Community Housing
- Prendergast Ladywell School
- Prendergast School
- RMUK Wellbeing Community Interest Company
- Rosie Bloom Cleaning Service and Head Office
- Salthouse Bottles
- Santander UK - Catford
- Santander UK - Forest Hill
- Santander UK - Lewisham
- Santander UK - New Cross
- Santander UK - Sydenham
- Scott Lawrence London
- Second Floor Studios & Arts
- Second Floor Studios CIC
- Selencky Parsons Architects
- Smart Group Ltd
- Southwark - A-Plant
- Spare Tyre
- Spartan Crew
- St Laurence Church Catford
- The Albany
- The First Word Agency Limited
- The Urban Flower Firm
- Therapy 4 Healing
- This is Arcade
- Tom Brown Wholesale Florists Ltd
- twerk'N'jerk
- Wild Fawn Jewellery
- Young Lewisham Project
Local case studies
Goldsmiths, University of London
Goldsmiths, University of London employs over 1,800 people and has been an accredited London Living Wage employer since 2016. Ian Pleace, Director of Finance told us why they signed up to the scheme.
What motivated Goldsmiths to sign up
Fundamentally it was about fairness for our lowest paid members of staff, whether they are employed directly with us or on outsourced contracts. We want to make sure there is fairness for all members of the Goldsmiths community and help them to tackle the costs of living in London. The scheme is aligned with our values and our participation was driven by a desire to show leadership alongside the Council as one of the larger employers in the borough.
The benefits
National research shows that if staff are more motivated, there is lower absenteeism, lower staff turnover and a higher level of satisfaction. It is important that those at the lower paid grades, who might be struggling with the cost of living in London, are as motivated as higher paid colleagues.
The challenges
Well, it adds to the cost base, as 60% of our overall expenditure is staff costs. We have found it tough to make sure that everyone buying in services from outside respects the fact that we are a London Living Wage employer. So encouraging everyone to participate in this is key, making sure colleagues are not put off by the fact that they might have to pay more for some services. People should be asking themselves if they are buying from a London Living Wage employer. It is not just a compliance issue for our payroll team.
Why I’d recommend the scheme to others
I would recommend this scheme to others. It is the right thing to do and higher education institutions are often judged to a higher standard than other employers. The job of a university is to deliver public benefit, and this places a higher moral and ethical responsibility on us. Also, we are heavily invested in the local community. We benefit from a strong Lewisham economy, so it is vital to keep that going and keep it growing by acting as a responsible London Living Wage employer.
Regular Cleaning Services
Gemma and Luke Bowers, directors of Regular Cleaning Services, tell us why they became recognised service providers with the Living Wage Foundation.
What motivated Regular Cleaning Services to sign up
Becoming a recognised service provider with the Living Wage Foundation means we can offer our clients the opportunity to pay their cleaners the Living Wage. This allows us to offer a higher level of service to our clients built on:
- higher productivity
- reduced absenteeism
- increased motivation
- representation of the family and social values our company was founded on
Benefits
Working with the foundation to promote the Living Wage allows us to approach clients in our portfolio who we know are interested in, and espouse, similar social values to us, making us a more attractive prospect for business.
Our ability to pay the London Living Wage outside of our headquarters is highly dependent on our client’s budgets, and so it is not always possible to provide our mobile operatives with the London Living Wage. But we make the case that paying the London Living Wage helps to:
- provide quality and assurance of staff
- reduce absenteeism
- increase retention
- meet our clients’ corporate social responsibility targets and their commitment to be an ethical employer
The London Living Wage is a respectful and necessary wage, especially in London, where the cost of living is only getting higher. Paying it helps us make sure that our staff live a happier life and this in turn is reinvested in our company through a less stressed and happier work force.
The challenges
It can be hard for employers to pay the increased staff costs, but we believe these are offset by the major benefits you will gain. That is why, when applying for work, we offer clients a stepped plan of progression towards fully paying the London Living Wage, offering a softer and gradual approach towards a fair wage.
Why we'd recommend the scheme
A business is only as good as the people it can attract to work for it. The London Living Wage helps to attract and retain motivated and productive staff and apply pressure on other businesses to respect their employees.
The process of applying and becoming a recognised service provider was simple and easy.