Case Study 1: Islington Council Living Wage

In June 2010 Islington Council launched a Fairness Commission to tackle poverty and inequality in the borough, the top recommendation of the commission was for Islington to push towards becoming a Living Wage borough.

Islington Council made the commitment to become a Living Wage employer in 2011, and in 2012 the Council was the joint first Local Authority, alongside Lewisham, to win accreditation as a Living Wage employer.

Islington Council has also used civic leadership to exert with other employers in the borough and as of April 2014 Islington has one of the highest number of Living wage accredited employers in the country - 48.

Lela Kogbara, Assistant Chief Executive (Strategy & Community Partnerships) said: 'The Council pays all directly employed staff at least the London Living Wage. 92% of Islington contracts are now Living Wage compliant and this will rise to 98% in 2014 through our work to apply the Living Wage to the challenging area of Adult Social Care. We will continue to work towards becoming 100% compliant.

'There have been more than 500 beneficiaries following our decision to become a Living Wage employer.  Cleaners, security guards, grounds staff and school caterers, many of whom are ethnic minority or female employees, have seen a wage increase.

'Since implementation Islington Council has demonstrated that not only was becoming a Living Wage employer the right decision for low waged workers, it's also brought with it a range of business benefits, including motivating staff as they focus on meeting residents' expectations.

'These impacts have helped us to champion the Living Wage to other leading employers within the borough who are also committed to tackling poverty and inequality in our communities.'

Case study 2: Wales & West Housing

Wales & West Housing is one of 33 housing associations accredited as Living Wage employers. As one of the largest housing associations in Wales, the organisation manages more than 9,500 properties across 12 local authorities. In 2012 Wales & West Housing became the first housing association in Wales to commit to becoming an accredited Living Wage employer.

Anne Hinchey, chief executive, Wales & West Housing: 'As a charitable, not-for-profit organisation with a commitment to improving the welfare and wellbeing of our residents and the communities that they are part of, accrediting as a Living Wage employer made sense.

'Paying our own team a fair salary seemed a sensible place to start and clearly demonstrates our values in action.

'Implementing the Living Wage affected around 15% of our workforce; this added around £15,000 in salary costs, which in the grand scheme of things isn’t too large an amount of money.  Feedback from staff has reinforced our belief that paying the Living Wage is also a good business decision, with staff reporting they feel better valued and more motivated.

'We know, through our annual staff survey with Best Companies, that staff engagement levels continue to grow across our business and we continue to retain and develop great staff. In fact we have seen annual improvements in our survey results over the last four years resulting in us achieving a top 5 place in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For, Not-For-Profit List

'The Best Company Survey measures engagement against seven factors, one being Fair Deal, which includes staff satisfaction in connection with pay. We ranked 1st in this Factor out of all participating organisations in the NFP category.

'Finally, Castell Catering and Cambria Maintenance Services are both part of the Wales & West Housing Group and both subsidiaries are also Living Wage Employers.'

Living Wage Facts

• 652 organisations and businesses are now accredited Living Wage employers
• Example employers include: Islington Borough Council; Nationwide; KPMG; Wales & West Housing; Faucet Inns; Transport for London and SSE
• Since 2001 the campaign has impacted tens of thousands of employees and put over £210 million into the pockets of some of the lowest paid workers in the UK
• The Living Wage has helped over 45,000 families across the UK
• The Living Wage has an impressive impact on business: 75% of employees reported an increase in the quality of their work after receiving the Living Wage, with 80% of employers noticing an increase in productivity*
• Approximately one in five workers in the UK earns less than the Living Wage. This is the second highest rate of low pay in the OECD.**

*London Economics for the Greater London Authority, 2009
**Markit Group for KPMG, 2012