The Living Wage Foundation is pleased to announce that Halifax Opportunities Trust, has today accredited as a Living Wage employer.
The Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at HOT, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors; receive a minimum hourly wage of £8.25 – significantly higher than the national minimum wage of £6.70 and the new minimum wage premium for over 25s of £7.20 per hour set to be introduced this April.
The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living using the ‘Minimum Income Standard’ for the UK. Decisions about what to include in this standard are set by the public; it is a social consensus about what people need to make ends meet.
“As an anti-poverty charity routed firmly in a community where many people struggle to feed and clothe their families on a daily basis paying a living wage is the only right and fair thing to. Signing up formally hopefully will encourage others. It expresses what we are, mirroring our culture and values.” Barbara Harbinson – Chief Executive of Halifax Opportunities Trust.
Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage enjoys cross party support, with public backing from the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.
Living Wage Foundation Director, Katherine Chapman said: “We are delighted to welcome Halifax Opportunities Trust to the Living Wage movement as an accredited employer.
“The best employers are voluntarily signing up to pay the Living Wage now. 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.
“We have accredited over 2,500 leading employers, including HOT, ranging from independent printers, bookshops and breweries, to well-known companies such as Nationwide, Aviva and SSE. These businesses recognise that clinging to the national minimum wage is not good for business. Customers expect better than that.”
About the Living Wage Foundation
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 £9.40 per hour. This figure is set annually by the Greater London Authority and covers all boroughs in Greater London. The UK Living Wage for outside of London is currently £8.25 per hour. This figure is set annually by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University.
The Living Wage Foundation recognises and celebrates the leadership shown by Living Wage employers across the UK. There are currently over 2,500 accredited employers. We are an initiative of Citizens UK. We believe that work should be the surest way out of poverty.
We receive guidance and advice from the Living Wage Advisory Council. The Foundation is supported by ten principal partners: Aviva; Joseph Rowntree Foundation; KPMG; Linklaters; Nationwide; Nestle; Resolution Foundation; Save the Children; Trust for London; and Queen Mary University of London.
What about the Government’s national living wage?
In July 2015 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the UK Government will introduce a compulsory ‘national living wage’. This new government rate is a minimum wage premium rate for staff over 25 years old. It will be introduced from April 2016 and the rate will be £7.20 per hour. The rate is separate to the Living Wage rate calculated by the Living Wage Foundation. The government rate is based on median earnings while the Living Wage Foundation rate is calculated according to the cost of living