Council gets ‘Living Wage’ accreditation

From April 1 Brighton & Hove city council will be an accredited Living Wage Employer.

In November last year the Policy & Resources Committee approved plans to uplift the lowest paid council staff to the UK Living Wage rate of £7.45 per hour.

128 permanent staff will benefit from this increase – 98 of whom work in the city’s schools – plus many staff who work for the council on a casual basis. They Council will also be looking at their contractual arrangements to try and make sure that those who work on the council’s behalf benefit as well.

The Leader of the Council Jason Kitcat said:

“This is a really important step. Poverty pay has no place in society; we know that paying employees a living wage helps tackle inequality and helps families become more independent.”

“Council employees should be paid enough to live here and we are leading by example, we want the living wage to become a real consideration for businesses throughout the city.”