New Director of the Living Wage Foundation announced

Citizens UK and the Living Wage Foundation are delighted to announce that Katherine Chapman has been appointed Director of The Living Wage Foundation, replacing Rhys Moore.

Katherine, who is currently Assistant Director at the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), will be joining the Living Wage Foundation in March 2016.

The appointment comes at a milestone moment in the Living Wage movement, which has now accredited over 2,000 organisations who pay the voluntary higher rate of pay to all their employees including third-party contractors. Over a quarter of the FTSE 100 is now accredited Living Wage employers, and significantly during 2015, a number of retailers including IKEA and Richer Sounds have all committed to the voluntary Living Wage scheme.

Neil Jameson, Executive Director, Citizens UK said:

"We are very pleased to welcome Katherine to the role of Director at the Living Wage Foundation. She brings with her a wealth of experience working with high profile employers and policy makers, which will help guide the Foundation as it grows.

"The Living Wage is an example of communities, business, campaigners and faith groups coming together to find practical, non-statutory means to address working poverty and strengthen families.

"The growth of the campaign and the Living Wage Foundation is testament to the dedication of thousands of volunteers, a small group of hard working staff and leaders from the business community who together have pioneered the Living Wage; taking it from a niche campaign to a national movement with cross party political support."

Prior to her post at UKCES, Katherine was Head of Education and Skills at Policy Connect, and before that, Policy Researcher at the Institute for Citizenship.

Mike Kelly, Chair, The Living Wage Foundation said: 

"Katherine joins the Living Wage Foundation at an exciting point in its journey - we now have over 2,000 organisations that pay the voluntary Living Wage and the movement has also resulted in the Government enshrining a National Living Wage in regulation from April.

"Katherine's understanding and experience of the private sector, alongside her knowledge of government will provide a great platform to lead the Living Wage Foundation into the next phase of the challenge to tackle in-work poverty in the UK. We look forward to working with her and putting in place the exciting plans she has for the organisation."

Ahead of starting her new role, Katherine said:

"I'm excited and honoured to be joining the Living Wage Foundation at such a significant time for the organisation, and am especially looking forward to working with our growing network of Living Wage employers to celebrate and reward those businesses that go beyond the minimum on pay. With more employers joining every day - a testament to the fantastic work of the Foundation - there is a real opportunity to take the campaign to the next level in supporting businesses to offer high wage and high quality work."