New Living Wage Foundation Toolkit Urges Service Providers to Pay Employees Fairly

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• New Living Wage Foundation Toolkit Urges Service Providers to Pay Employees Fairly

28 August 2024

A new toolkit to help employees in the service provision industry earn a real living wage has launched.

It’s estimated that 3.7 million jobs are paid below the Living Wage in the UK, including hundreds of thousands in cleaning, security, and FM. The new toolkit from the Living Wage Foundation encourages employers in the sector to commit to paying all members of staff at least the Living Wage, which is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK.

Companies can either become accredited as a Living Wage Employer or sign up to the Recognised Service Provider scheme, in which bosses agree to pay all staff not tied to client contracts at least the Living Wage and promote the Living Wage to their clients.

"Fair wages attract and retain skilled staff, ensuring high service standards and business continuity across all of these vital sectors. Paying anything less, quite frankly, puts the security of our built environment in jeopardy!”

–Phil Smith

Managing Director, Indigo Integrated FM

The toolkit explains the benefits of the Living Wage to both employers and employees, outlining the accreditation process with case studies from businesses who have already signed up. One such provider is cleaning company Cleanology. CEO and Co-Founder Dominic Ponniah also co-chairs the Living Wage Foundation’s Recognised Service Provider Leadership Group. He said: “I continue to be heartened by the ongoing support of our clients and the wider industry of the Real Living Wage. In this current cost of living crisis, it has never been more important to support the Real Living Wage, but moreover, it is simply the right thing to do: a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. It is also a sound commercial business decision, because you get a more motivated team who want to go over and above for you and your clients.”

Phil Smith, Managing Director of Indigo Integrated FM and Chair of the Hill Club, who also co-chairs the Living Wage Foundation’s Recognised Service Provider Leadership Group added: “Paying the Real Living Wage is absolutely vital for employee wellbeing, ensuring fair pay and reducing home life and financial stress.

"However, in the outsourced facilities management industry, it's also business-critical, as these essential workers keep schools, hospitals and myriad other commercial environments operational. Fair wages attract and retain skilled staff, ensuring high service standards and business continuity across all of these vital sectors. Paying anything less, quite frankly, puts the security of our built environment in jeopardy!”

Employers can access the Service Provision Toolkit on the Living Wage Foundation website here. There is more information about accrediting as a Living Wage Employer here, and as a Recognised Service Provider here.

Picture: a photograph of a pile of GBP coins including 10p, 2p, 20p, £1 and more. Image Credit: Unsplash

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 28 August 2024

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