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London Living Wage

This special initiative was set up at the end of 2008 and developed from our commitment to challenge the unacceptable and growing level of in-work poverty and poor working conditions that many Londoners experience. In partnership with London Citizens, the work will support direct campaign work and develop an accreditation scheme for employers. This was established in May 2011 through the creation of the Living Wage Foundation. Our funding also includes research into the cost and benefits of adopting a living wage in order to strengthen the business case.

Aim

To increase awareness and implementation of a London Living Wage as a means to achieve a better standard of living and quality of life of those living in poverty.

Objectives

Increase the number of low-paid workers (an additional 37,000) earning a Living Wage in London.

Empower low-paid workers so they are central to the campaign.

Secure additional financial benefits of at least £111 million in wages for employees.

Develop a Living Wage Unit (the Living Wage Foundation) to increase and monitor the number of employers signing up to become living wage employers.

Critically assess the cost and benefits of adopting a living wage policy including utilising research data and existing models of good practice in order to develop a business case for employers which may be part of their overall commitment to corporate social responsibility.

Increase the number of Living Wage employers to include their commitment to the living wage as part of their public documents and publicity.

Influence future social and economic policy in relation to the Living Wage, particularly in relation to Government and political parties.

Funding

In 2008 we invested around £1 million into the initiative. It has three elements:

Campaigning and Implementation
London Citizens was awarded £850,000, over four years, for campaign work in the higher education, retail and public sectors and to establish a Living Wage Foundation to promote the Licving Wage and accredit employers.

Research
Queen Mary, University of London was awarded a commission of £80,000, over two years, to undertake independent research on the longer-term impact and potential benefits to employers and employees of a Living Wage. Central to the research was findings from seven sets of comparative case studies across key sectors (to include living wage and non-living wage employers) on the cost and benefits of implementing a living wage. The research has now been completed and can be downloaded here.

A contribution of £20,000 was made to research undertaken by IPPR and Resolution Foundation. Two reports have been produced:

Beyond the Bottom Line: The challenges and opportunities of a Living Wage
What price a Living Wage?

Evaluation - Cambridge Policy Consultants have been commissioned to undertake a four-year piece of evaluation to explore and assess the overall impact of the Living Wage special initiative. This will be available at the end of 2013.