BALERNO PARISH CELEBRATES COMMITMENT TO REAL LIVING WAGE
Balerno Parish Church has been accredited as a Living Wage Employer. Our Living Wage commitment sees everyone working at the church receive the current minimum hourly wage.
The Resolution Foundation, overseen by the Living Wage Commission, calculates rate annually using the best available evidence on living standards in the UK. Balerno Parish Church has committed to increasing the rate of pay for all our employees inline with the real Living Wage.
The real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to the costs of living. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their staff earn a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum. Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 200,000 people and put over £1Billion extra into the pockets of low paid workers.
Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation said: “We’re delighted that Balerno Parish Church has joined the movement of nearly 6,000 responsible employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on”.
The Living Wage Foundation is the organisation at the heart of the movement of businesses, organisations and individuals who campaign for the simple idea that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. The Living Wage Foundation receives guidance and advice from the Living Wage Advisory Council.
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 government rate, introduced in 2016, is a minimum wage rate for staff over 25 years old. The rate is different to the real 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 in the UK.