A Camberwell community centre has become the 300th organisation in Southwark to become an official Living Wage employer.
Employees at the Spring Community Hub are now paid a minimum £11.95 per hour, above the national minimum wage of £10.42.
Cllr Martin Seaton, cabinet member for jobs, skills and business, visited Spring Community Hub to congratulate them on the milestone.
He said: “Southwark is a proud Living Wage Place thanks to employers like Spring Community Hub.
“They are doing vital work tackling in-work poverty out in the community and now among their own workforce.
“Putting fair wages into the pockets of workers also benefits employers and residents by creating a more inclusive local economy.”
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The ‘real living wage’ is set by The Living Wage Foundation and is based on the cost of living, including rent.
In 2020, Southwark Council committed to becoming a Living Wage Place, meaning it would encourage organisations to pay staff the living wage. Since then, over 4,800 people have benefited from pay rises.
Spring Community Hub set up a food bank to tackle hunger in the community and distributed more than 5,200 food parcels in the first year of the pandemic.
It also offers crisis support, back-to-work support, a holiday club for children, a clothes bank and a social supermarket.
Felicia Boshorin, CEO at Spring Community Hub, said: “We are proud to be the 300th Living Wage Employer in Southwark. Given the work that we do, we are acutely aware of the impact of the cost of living crisis on people in the borough, even those who are working.
“As responsible employers, it is important to us to set a positive example by paying our staff a living wage so they can at least meet the basic costs associated with living in London.”
Register online for an information pack from the Living Wage Foundation. For more on support from Southwark Council on accreditation, email southwarkbusinesdesk@southwark.gov.uk with ‘Living Wage accreditation’ in the subject line.
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