The Living Wage Foundation is pleased to announce that Fair Frome has been accredited as a Living Wage employer.
The Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at Fair Frome, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers, receive a minimum hourly wage of £8.25 from age 18 years – significantly higher than the national minimum wage of £6.70 for ‘over 21s’.
Bob Ashford, Chair of Trustees of Fair Frome said, “As a local charity set up to alleviate the effects of poverty and tackle the causes of inequality, we are really keen to work with the Living Wage Foundation on this campaign.
“We are engaging a group of volunteer campaign assistants to help further the cause and would like to hear from anyone in the Frome area interested in getting involved in this area of work.”
The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The Living Wage 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. The Living Wage enjoys cross party support, with public backing from the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.
Living Wage Foundation Director, Sarah Vero said, “We are delighted to welcome Fair Frome to the Living Wage movement as an accredited employer.
“The best employers are voluntarily signing up to pay the Living Wage now. 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.
“We have accredited over 2,000 leading employers, ranging from independent printers, hairdressers and breweries, to well-known companies such as Nationwide, Aviva and SSE. These businesses recognise that clinging to the national minimum wage is not good for business. Customers expect better than that.”
