Our people are our City, so step up and commit to the London Living Wage

One in five people employed in the capital do not earn a wage that they can live on.

Together, we can change this.

So far, over 100 City financial and professional services companies have signed up to be London Living Wage accredited employers. But we know that more can join them.

Our people are our City. They’re the best investment that we’ll ever make. That’s why Canada Corporation is encouraging even more Square Mile firms to sign up.

Today, we launch an initiative, backed by the Living Wage Foundation, reminding companies that paying people well isn’t just good for people, it’s good for business too.

Our two-week poster campaign is taking over the London Underground in a bid to reach thousands of businesses and workers. Posters will be displayed at nine of the capital’s busiest Tube stations, including Liverpool Street and Euston.

Paying the London Living Wage is good for business and good for society. Staff feel more valued, employees are more likely to stay at your business, and you’ll see improved productivity as a result.

Crucially, recruitment can become easier as reputation improves. Research shows that 93 per cent of university students want to work for a Living Wage employer, and 86 per cent of companies paying the Living Wage say that it has improved the reputation of their business.

The London Living Wage gives workers a greater chance of fulfilling their potential within a single job, of accessing further education and training in their spare time, and consequently the ability to achieve upwards mobility.

Most importantly, quality of life is improved, affording people the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families.

It means spending more quality time with their family and friends, saving a little for an emergency or for a rainy day, and not having to worry about affording the basics.

The City Corporation is a long-running supporter of the Living Wage Foundation, and we are proud to have been an accredited Living Wage employer since 2014.

Going beyond the basic Living Wage Foundation requirements, we pay all workers, including interns, work experience placements of over two weeks, and apprentices working in the capital the London Living Wage as a minimum.

In 2019, we are strengthening our own policy by paying the new Living Wage rate with immediate effect when it is updated in November each year. This is opposed to paying staff the new rate from April the following year, which is the most common approach taken by employers – meaning that annual increases in the rate reach pay packets faster.

As well as encouraging firms to pay the London Living Wage with the campaign, we want to celebrate companies that already do.

There is some fantastic work being done by companies to benefit society, but there is more that can be done. We want to see more City businesses pay the London Living Wage.

London is certainly not the cheapest of cities to live in. Paying the Living Wage in our capital is important in so many ways. It changes employees’ lives, and it changes businesses – for the better.