LIVING WAGE
Tackling
low pay
Ealing Council has announced intentions to help make Ealing a Living Wage
borough, reports Chelsea Keenan.
T
he council is to consider a
scheme to offer up a total
of £200,000 in business rate
relief to encourage local
firms to pay their employees at least
the London Living Wage, which is
calculated according to the basic cost
of living in the capital. This year it is
calculated at £9.40 per hour, £2.70
above the minimum wage.
If the scheme is approved, up to
£2,000 each would be available for the
first 100 businesses that come forward.
The council became a Living Wage
employer in 2013.
Michael Hanreck is managing partner
of PAG Leisurewear, the first local, private
company to sign up for Living Wage
accreditation. He said: “It is a clear,
elegant, statement
about the ethics
of the business,
backed by a financial
decision that can’t
be smudged or
worked round and the
accrediting process
is incredibly simple.
Pay your staff what
they need to live
a respectable
life. We need
our people to care,
perform and be an asset
to the business; the living
wage is one of the fundamental
steps to achieve that.”
According to the London Poverty
Profile, published by the Trust for
London, currently more than 25%
of the jobs in our borough are ‘low
paid’, contributing to levels of in-work
poverty, and child poverty.
Councillor Steve Hynes, the council’s
Living Wage champion, and cabinet
member for prosperity, skills and
employment, said: “I congratulate PAG
Leisurewear in being the first private
company based in Ealing to become an
accredited Living Wage
employer and I hope
that its commitment
to ensuring staff get
a fair wage will set a
precedent for other
local businesses to
follow.”
Leader of the council
Julian Bell said: “By
offering a business rate
discount we hope
this proposed scheme
will recognise and celebrate
good employers in the borough
and encourage others to step-up to
provide a fair day’s pay for their staff.”
Sarah Vero, acting director of the
Living Wage Foundation, said: “It’s
really good to see Ealing Council
champion the Living Wage in such a
practical way, supporting businesses
in their borough that are showing
leadership around tackling low-pay.”
Details of the scheme will be
confirmed following the council’s
formal budget setting process, when
it will be considered by the council’s
cabinet and full council.
Any businesses interested in
registering an interest should contact
[email protected]
around ealing
Winter 2015/16
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