Hackney raises the flag for London Living Wage Week
Hackney marked London Living Wage week on Monday 6 November by raising the London Living Wage flag over Hackney Town Hall for the first time.
The flag was hoisted by Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville following a celebration event for London Living Wage employers in Hackney and will remain above the Town Hall until the end of London Living Wage week on Sunday 12 November.
More than 30 local businesses attended the event held at Hackney Town Hall including employers who current pay the London Living Wage and those aspiring to pay this rate in the future. Dr Andrea Werner, from the Middlesex Business School, spoke at the event about how small and medium sized enterprises can make the London Living Wage work for them, and Citizens UK and the Living Wage Foundation were on hand to provide advice and guidance to those who want to find out more.
Hackney Council was formally accredited as a London Living Wage employer last year by the Living Wage Foundation, cementing a long-standing commitment to pay the London Living Wage. That commitment means that everyone working for the Council, regardless of whether they are permanent employees, temporary staff, part-time or agency staff or apprentices over the age of 18, is guaranteed to receive at least the London Living Wage.
The Council also ensures that contractors are awarded the London Living Wage, so over 800 more people are now seeing this rate of pay.
Not only does paying the London Living Wage help improve the quality of life and wellbeing of employees, but it is also positive for businesses – it helps them to become an employer of choice. It helps them to attract and employ good quality staff, and importantly, to retain them. We encourage Hackney businesses to become London Living Wage employers and see for themselves the difference it can make to both their business and their employees lives.
I’m proud to represent an organisation that has been formally accredited by as a London Living Wage employer. It is very important to me that we lead by example and to ensure that everyone working for us, including our new apprentices, receives a fair salary to help meet the spiralling cost of living in our borough and across the whole of London.
A new rate for the London Living Wage of £10.20 per hour was announced this week. This is higher than the National Minimum Wage of £5.60 which rises to £7.50 per hour depending on age.
The Living Wage rates are calculated annually by the Resolution Foundation and overseen by the Living Wage Commission, based on the best available evidence about living standards in London and the UK. Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis.
For more information about the Living Wage Foundation, please visit the website: www.livingwage.org.uk