Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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Facilicom's support of fair wages leads to award shortlisting
A long-term commitment to employee wellbeing and paying a fair wage has led to Facilicom UK being shortlisted by the Living Wage Foundation for the Living Wage Champion Awards 2016.
The awards recognise Living Wage employers that have made great contributions to communities and industries by implementing and celebrating the Living Wage. Facilicom, a contract cleaning and soft services provider, is a founding member of the Living Wage Service Provider Recognition Scheme and part of the Service Providers Leadership Group. It was one of the first three national contract cleaning providers to sign up to the scheme.
"We are proud to be a Living Wage Service provider and work closely with our clients to encourage them to pay the Living Wage," says Facilicom UK managing director, Jan-Hein Hemke.
"We firmly believe in the Living Wage because it is real people being affected by decisions about pay, not just numbers on a balance sheet. People who are willing to work hard for their wages should be rewarded sufficiently to be able to live and enjoy life.
"Facilicom's business is expanding in part because of, rather than in spite of, paying the Living Wage. We are committed to delivering best value support to the companies we work for and have developed detailed and creative working models to show how the impact of paying the Living Wage doesn't have to be devastating to contract costs."
Living Wage Foundation director, Katherine Chapman says:
"I would like to offer huge congratulations to Facilicom on being shortlisted for the Living Wage Champion Awards. The commitment of Living Wage employers like Facilicom to responsible pay makes a life changing difference to families and communities across the UK. We look forward to celebrating this even more when announcing the winners of the regional awards during Living Wage Week which will begin on 31 October."
The Living Wage Foundation offers a recognition mark for employers that commit to paying
the Living Wage. There are now over 2,700 accredited employers.
The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. It is calculated according to the basic cost of living using the 'Minimum Income Standard' for the UK. Decisions about what to include in this standard are set by the public; it is a social consensus about what people need to make ends meet. Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis and the Living Wage enjoys cross party support.
The London Living Wage is currently £9.40 per hour. This figure is set annually by the Greater London Authority and covers all boroughs in Greater London; for outside of London is currently £8.25 per hour. This figure is set annually by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University.
In April 2016 the UK Government introduced a new compulsory 'national living wage'. This new government rate of £7.20 an hour is a minimum wage premium rate for staff over 25 years old. 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.
The award winners will be announced during Living Wage Week, with one winner announced for each region of the UK: Scotland; Wales; Northern Ireland; the East Midlands; the West Midlands; the East of England; Yorkshire and the Humber; North East England; North West England; South East England; South West England; and London.
The awards are judged by an independent panel of community leaders from Citizens UK; national community organising charity and home of the Living Wage campaign.
6th October 2016