More charities will be able to pay staff the Living Wage now that four new grant-making organisations have joined the Living Wage Foundation’s scheme for charity funders.
The Coutts Foundation, the Goodall Foundation, Money Advice Trust and Millfield House Foundation have all received recognition as Living Wage Friendly Funders. The scheme recognises funders that commit to supporting charities by funding posts at the Living Wage rate.
As part of their commitment to being Friendly Funders, these three organisations will support charities to pay the Living Wage to any grant-funded staff posts.
Living Wage Friendly Funders work together to end low pay in the Voluntary and Community sector. Thousands of charities and funders have already embraced the Living Wage across the UK, but low pay remains a real challenge across the sector.
Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation, said:
“The leadership shown by The Coutts Foundation, the Goodall Foundation, Monday Advice Trust and Millfield House as Living Wage Friendly Funders demonstrates a commitment to tackling the serious problems that low pay brings to our communities. Many organisations in the voluntary and community sectors are working hard to tackle social injustice and poverty; it’s only right that those committed to these roles are afforded at least a Living Wage.
We hope to see many more funders and corporates follow the lead of the Living Wage Friendly Funders. At a time when half of those in poverty live in a household where someone has a job, the Living Wage is much needed by families across the UK. The Living Wage is a robust calculation that reflects the real cost of living, rewarding a hard day’s work with a fair day’s pay.”
There are now 27 funders signed up to this scheme including People’s Health Trust, Trust for London, Barrow Cadbury, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Comic Relief, the London Borough of Islington, City Bridge Trust and Lloyds Bank Foundation.
The Minimum Wage in the UK is currently £7.50 an hour in the UK, but the UK Living Wage, which is set independently and calculated in accordance to the basic cost of living in the UK, is considerably higher at £8.45, rising to £9.75 in London.
Toby Lowe, Chair of Millfield House Foundation, said: “Millfield House Foundation's whole purpose is to improve the conditions of economically and socially disadvantaged people here in the North East. We see very clearly what a low wage economy can do to the people being paid too little and to the economy of the region. That’s why we advocate paying the Living Wage and are pleased to be a Living Wage Friendly Funder.”
Leslie Gent, trustee of the Coutts Foundation, said:
“The mission of the Coutts Foundation is to support sustainable approaches to tackle the causes and consequences of poverty, focusing on the communities where Coutts has a presence. Growing commitment for the Living Wage in all sectors is critical to tackling poverty in the UK. Given the Foundation’s mission, in addition to having given a three-year grant to support the work of the Living Wage Foundation, we are delighted to join the Living Wage Friendly Funder network.”
Eugenie Teasley, CEO of The Goodall Foundation, said:
“It’s fantastic that there is now a growing groundswell amongst funders to recognise the importance of paying fairly in the charity and voluntary sector. I very much hope this leads to greater diversity across all teams; we will do better and achieve more if we can recruit and retain talented people, including those who cannot afford to take a wage cut to pursue a career through which they aspire to have a positive impact on the world around them.”
Jane Tully, Director of External Affairs at the Money Advice Trust, said:
“Through our work at National Debtline, we recognise the role that fair pay plays in enabling people to balance their finances and manage their debts. The Living Wage scheme has played a significant role in addressing low pay across the UK and is backed up by calculations that reflect the real cost of living – which is all the more important at a time of economic uncertainty and rising inflation.
We at the Trust are pleased to be playing our part in challenging low pay in this sector and look forward to many more organisations joining us to tackle this issue in other areas as well.”
The Living Wage Friendly Funder scheme is kindly supported by the People’s Health Trust.
John Hume, Chief Executive, People’s Health Trust, said:
“People’s Health Trust is very pleased to welcome these four organisations as the latest charitable funders to join the Living Wage Friendly Funder network. By becoming part of this rapidly growing scheme, they have demonstrated their commitment, as funders, to working towards ending low pay in the Voluntary and Community sector. We want to see the Living Wage become the norm, wherever possible, and believe that funding organisations can lead the way in making this happen within the Voluntary Sector.”
ENDS
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Notes to editors
About the UK Living Wage
The UK Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. It is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK and employers choose to pay it on a voluntary basis.
The Living Wage Foundation recognises and celebrates the leadership shown by Living Wage employers across the UK.
It is an initiative of Citizens UK and offers accreditation to employers that pay the Living Wage, or those committed to an agreed timetable of implementation, by awarding the ‘Living Wage Employer’ mark. There are now over 3,200 accredited Living Wage Employers across the UK.
The Living Wage Friendly Funder scheme recognises grant makers that support charities to pay the Living Wage through their grant-making.
You can follow the Living Wage Foundation on twitter @LivingWageUK and find out more about the Friendly Funder Scheme using #FriendlyFunders
The Friendly Funder Framework
Living Wage Friendly Funders agree to three sequential core principles:
PRINCIPLE ONE:
Become an accredited Living Wage Employer with the Living Wage Foundation. You can find out more about this and start the process at livingwage.org.uk
PRINCIPLE TWO:
Pay the Living Wage to grant funded posts or be demonstrably working towards paying this over a period agreed with the Living Wage Foundation.
Living Wage Friendly Funders seek to ensure that all posts which are wholly or partially funded by the funder pay the Living Wage, unless there are reasons for this not to happen (these might include difficulties in maintaining differentials, and the impact on other posts within the grantee’s workforce – there is more information in our FAQs).
PRINCIPLE THREE:
Support grantees to become Living Wage Employers by signposting them towards:
• The Living Wage Foundation
• Other Living Wage Friendly Funders
• Other Living Wage VCS organisations in their area
About the Living Wage Foundation
The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The real Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK. Employers choose to pay this wage on a voluntary basis. The real Living Wage enjoys cross party support.
The Living Wage for outside London is currently £8.45 per hour. The London Living Wage is currently £9.75 per hour. This figure covers all boroughs in Greater London. These figures are calculated annually by the Resolution Foundation and overseen by the Living Wage Commission, based on the best available evidence on living standards in London and the UK.
We believe that a hard day's work deserves a fair day's pay and support responsible employers to voluntarily pay the Living Wage so their employees can earn enough to meet the cost of living.
We receive guidance and advice from the Living Wage Advisory Council. The Foundation is supported by our principal partners: Aviva; IKEA; Joseph Rowntree Foundation; Burberry; GSK; KPMG; Linklaters; Nationwide; Nestle; Resolution Foundation; Oxfam; Trust for London; and Queen Mary University of London.
What about the Government’s national living wage?
In July 2015, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the UK Government would introduce a compulsory ‘national living wage’. This new government rate is a minimum wage premium rate for staff over 25 years old. It was introduced in April 2016 and the rate, as of April 2017 is £7.50 per hour. The rate is separate to the Living Wage rate calculated by the Living Wage Foundation. The government rate is based on median earnings while the Living Wage Foundation rate is calculated according to the cost of living.
About Millfield House Foundation
The Millfield House Foundation’s aim is to tackle inequality, particularly social and economic inequality, in the North East of England (i.e. Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Tees Valley). This is done by funding work the goal of which is to change policy for the better. The Trustees support a small list of grantholders – called Strategic Partners - whose work has impressed them and whom they wish to support over a period of years. The grants are given for core costs to be used at the discretion of the grantholder with the single stipulation that this be in support of campaigning or policy work.
MHF recognises that genuine, effective policy change requires a mix of approaches and outcomes. Most, though not all, policy work pushes in a direction rather than arriving immediately at the desired destination. With its limited resources the Foundation cannot support the entire gamut of activities necessary to bring about profound policy shifts. The Trustees’ grantmaking policy is, therefore, to support work which contributes to real change. This means that grantholders must identify not only what they are doing but also what others are doing to shape the desired change.
About The Coutts Foundation
The mission of the Coutts Foundation is to support sustainable approaches to tackle the causes and consequences of poverty, focusing on the communities where Coutts has a presence. This mission builds on the legacy of Angela Burdett-Coutts, the grand-daughter of Thomas Coutts, who was a progressive 19th-century philanthropist concerned with breaking cycles of poverty and providing basic human needs. At this time the core focus of the Coutts Foundation is supporting women and girls in the UK.
About The Goodall Foundation
The Goodall Foundation (formally The Robin & Sylvia Goodall Charitable Foundation) was established in 2016 by a Brighton-based entrepreneur to empower people to change their lives for the better across the globe. It works in partnership with a range of organisations seeking to advance education and develop the strengths and skills of young people, and focuses on encouraging innovation, collaboration and marrying business nous with social good.
About Money Advice Trust
The Money Advice Trust is a national charity helping people across the UK to tackle their debts and manage their money with confidence. The Trust runs National Debtline, offering completely free, independent and confidential advice on personal debt over the phone and online, and Business Debtline, the UK’s only dedicated debt advice service for the self-employed and small business owners. Through these practical self-help advice services and our Wiseradviser training programme, last year we helped more than 1.3 million people. Beyond our frontline activity, we work closely with government, creditors and partners to improve the UK’s money and debt environment. Find out more at moneyadvicetrust.org
