“It’s a massive commitment, but it shows we respect our staff”: Salford charity welcomes rise in real living wage

A boss at a Salford charity has welcomed a rise in the real living wage.

Jennifer Anne-Smith, Chief Executive Officer at the charity Salford Loaves and Fishes, said news that the wage has risen to at least £12 an hour in the UK today is good for people on lower wages.

She added that the charity opted into the scheme as the charity mainly deals with people dealing with poverty, so it was important to ensure that the staff were in a good financial position.

The 44-year-old also said: “For organisations like us that are not self-sustainable, it is a massive commitment and a massive cost, as everything is brought in by funding.

“But for us, it shows we respect and value our staff.”

Companies must pay to be part of the real living wage, and Jennifer Ann-Smith believes some companies might not pay to be part of the scheme but still offer the real living wage.

“I hope that is the case, rather than companies not paying people properly,” she added.

Katherine Chapman, the Living Wage Foundation director, said:

“Low-paid workers continue to struggle with stubbornly high prices because they spend a larger share of their budget on food and energy.

“As inflation eases, we cannot forget that low-paid workers remain on the sharp end of the cost of living.”

According to the Living Wage Foundation, the charity that sets the rate, the rise from £10.90 to £12 will give a lifeline to low-cost workers who are still facing the repercussions of the cost-of-living crisis. The rate rise will affect more than 460,000 employees.

Last week, the government announced that the rate of inflation was 6.7% for a second month in a row, which is still far higher than the Bank of England’s target of 2%.

Research indicated that 50% of low-paid workers are worse off than last year, with more than two in five using a food bank. Over 14,000 companies have joined the real living wage since its launch in 2011, with major companies such as IKEA and Arriva involved.

The scheme is believed to have given £3bn in extra wages to low-cost workers since 2011 and that people on the scheme would earn £3,081 more a year than someone on the current government minimum.

The national living wage right now is £10.42.