On Friday April 1st, the new National Living Wage goes into effect. This is no April Fools’ joke! This new national minimum wage will increase wages by 50p an hour to £7.20 for those over 25. However while this increase is a definite improvement, it is still significantly lower than the recommended living wage rate especially in London.
An independent evaluation that takes into consideration the cost of living in different parts of the UK, recommends that the living wage be £8.25 throughout the UK and £9.40 in London. These wages ensure that people are paid a wage that they can live on. This accounts for the basic costs of living around the UK and is re-evaluated each year. It also accounts for the higher cost of living within London. Employers can voluntarily commit to paying the London Living Wage and be accredited through the Living Wage Foundation.
To date there are over 2,300 employers who have voluntarily gone above the legal minimum wage to provide a London Living Wage, and Kartoffel Films is one of these London Living Wage employers. Paying the Living Wage in not just about investing in your employees, it also shows that you recognise the ethical and business benefits of a living wage. These wages ensure that your employees can not only survive but live and thrive.
Here at Kartoffel Films, we pay the London Living Wage as the minimum. We want our employees to succeed at work and at home which is why we do all that we can to support them. If you’re a part of an organisation that hasn’t committed yet to the London Living Wage, we encourage you to change that. You can find out more about the London Living Wage and how to support it here: http://www.livingwage.org.uk
