Bristol City Council reaffirms commitment to Bristol Living Wage City initiative

Bristol City Council has reaffirmed its commitment to lead the Bristol Living Wage City initiative for the next 3 years to drive change and reduce in-work poverty.

Over the last six years, the council has been on a journey towards achieving fair pay for local people through the Bristol Living Wage City initiative. There are currently:

• Roughly 6,000 people in Bristol have had their salary uplifted to the real Living Wage
• 450 accredited Living Wage employers in Bristol, of which over 280 are headquartered in the city
• 45,000 people working for real Living Wage accredited employers

This has been accomplished against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, following the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, impacting business confidence.

Businesses that pay the real Living Wage are demonstrating their commitment to valuing and supporting their workforce by paying a wage which is enough to live on – supporting the cost of their everyday needs.

Paying the Living Wage also provides a range of business benefits:

• 94% of Living Wage businesses report having benefited from their accreditation.
• 87% say it improved their reputation
• 66% say it helped them differentiate from others in their industry
• 62% say it improved the recruitment of employees into their business

Councillor Andrew Brown, Chair of the Economy and Skills Committee, said:

Paying the real Living Wage demonstrates that an organisation truly values the wellbeing of their staff. For workers on a low salary, receiving a fair wage that more accurately reflects the actual cost of living can make all the difference, giving them an opportunity to thrive rather than worrying whether they have enough to live on from one month to the next, and the fear of not being able to pay their bills.

It’s a win-win for businesses and their workforce as businesses can also see benefits – from a more motivated and productive workforce to improved staff retention. Paying the real Living Wage also shows commitment to social value and can boost the attractiveness of a businesses’ bid in competitive tendering situations.

Nationally we see low pay as a gender and race issue. Bristol, being a living a Living Wage city, encourages businesses to become accredited – taking an important step in helping to tackle inequality.

The real Living Wage is currently £13.45 per hour outside of London. It is the only UK wage rate that is based on the actual cost of living, and it increases every year.

From 1 April, paying the Living Wage will give a full-time worker an additional £1,443 per year more than someone on the National Minimum Wage, for workers aged 21 and over.

The Bristol Living Wage City initiative is led by a group of employers in the city who are working to reduce in-work poverty. In 2019, the group was formally recognised and given accreditation by the Living Wage Foundation for its efforts to make Bristol a Living Wage City.

To become accredited, a business must pay all of its workers the real Living Wage and have a plan in place to pay their contractors, cleaners and caterers the real Living Wage.

Businesses that already pay all of their staff the real Living Wage can become accredited and gain recognition for their commitment to being a quality employer.

Find more information about the real Living Wage and how to become an accredited employer on the Living Wage Foundation website or by emailing livingwage@bristol.gov.uk