Yesterday the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne revealed plans for a compulsory ‘National Living Wage’ (NLW) in the 2015 Budget. The NLW will be introduced from next April starting at £7.20 per hour, rising to £9 by 2020 and applies to those over the age of 25.
Brighton & Hove Living Wage Campaign, run by Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce, welcomes any increase of the minimum wage; however what has been set out in the 2015 Budget is not a living wage. It is instead an increase to the minimum wage, as it is lower than the current living wage of £7.85 per hour (£7.85 for the UK, £9.15 in London) and only applies to older workers. Even when the NLW rises to £9 per hour (in 5 years time) it will be below the London living wage rate today.
The low pay commission, which sets the minimum wage, will set the new NLW, instead of the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University and the Greater London Authority – who calculate the UK and London living wage rate as an amount that is enough for a person to live a decent life.
Rents are especially high in Brighton, and our campaign will continue to encourage businesses, charities, social enterprises and public sector organisations in Brighton & Hove to voluntarily commit to paying the living wage to their staff, joining the 226 others in the city that have already signed up.
If you currently pay your staff the living wage rate of £7.85 per hour (apprentices and interns are exempt) and would like to put your name to our campaign, click here to sign up. For more information, or if you have any questions, contact us at campaigns@businessinbrighton.org.uk.
As part of The Girls' Day School Trust network of schools across the country we support the Living Wage Campaign to ensure that all staff are paid a wage that is fair and provides for a decent standard of living. The GDST is proud to be a Living Wage Employer and Brighton & Hove High…
"Craker Business Solutions believes in paying a fair price to both suppliers and staff. The living wage gives us a minimum price so that we can ensure staff can live off their wage and not just survive. A fair wage, flexible and virtual working makes for loyal and motivated staff."
“We are delighted to be able to increase wages to our staff to above the current Living Wage rate from January 2016. The size of the increases are dependent on current salary and skill levels, it will make a considerable difference to the salaries of quite a lot of them. Our employees are all skilled…
I believe that our CAREGivers provide a valuable service to our clients and should be recognised and respected for the important role that they have in delivering high quality care.
We believe all staff deserve a decent living wage and we are proud to support this.
