Living Wage Friendly Employer

The Community Foundation is a Living Wage Friendly Funder. Living Wage Friendly Funders support charities to pay the real Living Wage that meets the cost of living through their grant-making. Hundreds of charities and funders have already embraced the Living Wage, but low pay remains a real challenge for the sector. We hope to work together to end low pay in the voluntary and community sector.

We have joined a select group of 19 funders across the country, including the Big Lottery Fund, Comic Relief, People’s Health Trust and Nationwide Foundation who have agreed that where they issue a grant for staff costs, these costs will be paid at the rate recommended by the Living Wage Foundation – ensuring that people are paid a fair rate of pay, set in line with the cost of living.  A full list of the Living Wage Friendly Funders can be found here.

PRINCIPLE ONE:

Become an accredited Living Wage Employer with the Living Wage Foundation. You can find out more about this and start the process at here.

PRINCIPLE TWO:

Pay the Living Wage to grant funded posts or be demonstrably working towards paying this over a period agreed with the Living Wage Foundation.

Living Wage Friendly Funders seek to ensure that all posts which are wholly or partially funded by the funder pay the Living Wage, unless there are reasons for this not to happen (these might include difficulties in maintaining differentials, and the impact on other posts within the grantee’s workforce).

PRINCIPLE THREE:

Support grantees to become Living Wage Employers by signposting them towards:

• The Living Wage Foundation
• Other Living Wage Friendly Funders
• Other Living Wage VCS organisations in their area