As we say goodbye to this year’s Living Wage Week, we’re looking back on some of the highlights of another brilliant, jam packed week! We loved celebrating with our amazing network of Living Wage employers and seeing new employers inspired to join the movement. Whether you attended an event, celebrated on social media or got creative in other ways to help raise awareness of the real Living Wage, a big thank you to everyone who took part.
Here’s just a flavour of some of the moments that made up Living Wage Week 2024!
Events up and down the country
Throughout the week we celebrated the power of fair pay with a range of events across the country as well as online; and we kicked off Living Wage Week in style at flagship events at iconic venues in London and Manchester.
The Living Wage accredited Globe Theatre London hosted a celebration of the achievements of the ‘Making London a Living Wage City’ campaign, where we heard from leaders in local communities about their experience of low pay, insecure work and their campaigning for change.
At the event at Manchester Art Gallery, we were joined by the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Leader of Manchester City Council Bev Craig as well as Living Wage employers from across the City Region to celebrate the progress made towards fair pay for all in the region, and discussing Living Hours accreditation can help to future-proof businesses.
“This has turned into an unstoppable movement that’s not just changing greater Manchester, it’s changing work for people right around the country”. Andy Burnham.
Watch – video highlight of the Living Wage Week launch event in Manchester.
We welcomed new Living Wage Employers
This Living Wage Week, we were delighted to welcome more employers to our growing network of over 15,000 employers across the UK. One of our latest members, the READ Foundation, is the first Muslim charity in the North West and one of the first in the UK to achieve Living Wage accreditation.
Bus company, Go North East, also announced their accreditation;
Managing Director Nigel Featham said: “At Go-Ahead, we care for our people, which is one of our five values and we're committed to investing in them now and for the future. We want our people to build their careers with us, whether they are dedicated drivers, engineers, cleaners or supervisors, they are the key to delivering outstanding services for our customers and keeping our communities connected.”
Celebrations on Social Media
We were delighted to see just how many Living Wage employers took to social media to celebrate their commitment to fair pay and a real Living Wage. The hashtag #LivingWageWeek even trended on X on the first day of Living Wage Week! Here’s what some employers, sharing their commitment to fair pay, had to say on social media:
Living Wage Places celebrated with us!
Many Living Wage places and Councils across the UK celebrated Living Wage Week by hosting events, posting on social media and decorating local businesses and buildings to raise awareness of the Living Wage. At the Preston Living Wage City launch event, local leaders, businesses and community members met to celebrate this milestone in the city’s commitment to fair pay.
In Newcastle, Council Leader Karen Kilgour joined North East Mayor Kim McGuinness and Sunderland’s Councillor Michael Mordey to celebrate employers paying the Living Wage in the region.
At an event at Aston University, the West Midlands Combined Authority celebrated over 19,000 people in their region seeing an uplift in their pay due to the 611 Living Wage employers in the region. Deputy Mayor Sharon Thompson said: "The Living Wage is one of the greatest social justice movements and the benefits to people, place and businesses are clear to see.
Inspiring Videos
This year we’ve been inspired by how many Living Wage employers and employees have gotten in front of the camera to share their experiences.
Brett Mendell, MD at Thomas Kneale, and employee Matt, spoke about the benefits they’d experienced of the Living Wage.
Borough market put together an amazing video capturing the spirit of celebrating Living Wage Week and how the Living Wage movement has made an impact on the lives of their workers:
Councillor John Batteson also visited Theatre Peckham to connect with the incredible team there. Suzann McLean, CEO and Artistic Director of Theatre Peckham spoke about the importance of being a Living Wage Employer and how they’re leading the movement in the Arts and Culture sector.
Councils Get Creative to champion the Living Wage
Many councils across the UK are doing great work together to help tackle in-work poverty and employment hurdles. We loved seeing all the creative ways that Councils used to raise awareness of Living Wage Week.
Norwich City Council quite literally got the word out on the street by painting up their pavements!
The London Borough of Lambeth hosted a great Good Work event with Southwark Council, London Borough of Merton, Royal Borough of Greenwich, and Lewisham Council. As champions of the movement, Lambeth Council shared their journey to becoming a Living Wage place and even lit their Town Hall blue to mark Living Wage Week.
Newcastle City Council also shared powerful testimonies from employers such as the Town Mouse Ale House who are working to fix the issue of in–work poverty across Newcastle and the Northeast.
An ode to the Living Wage
The National Centre for Writing and poet Julia Webb paid tribute to the power of the Living Wage with this poem to mark this year’s Living Wage Week:
One Pound and Sixteen Pence Per Hour
The difference between minimum wage and living wage for adults over 21 is £1.16 per hour
I work 8-hour days at Pumpkin Crunch Café, up and down the wobbly metal staircase, balancing trays of sandwiches, soup, cups of hot coffee.
puffy ankles, grated fingers, rubber glove hands, tinnitus, breakages deducted from my wages, pressure headaches, a side helping of rudeness
The difference per week is £46.40 or £2412.80 a year – enough to pay for this year’s £780 rent increase, a trip to my mother’s, and buy a happier Christmas for the kids.
Listen to the full poem here.
Support from a famous face
Last but not least! Living Wage accredited and multi award-winning animation studio Aardman, the famed creators of Wallace & Gromit & Chicken Run, showed their support by getting their beloved character Morph to proudly display the Living Wage logo in their window!
Though Living Wage Week is over for another year, the movement for fair pay and a real Living Wage continues! Beyond Living Wage Week, we continue to be inspired by the support of employers who believe that supporting their staff with a real Living Wage is the right thing to do. Thank you to everyone who made this year’s Living Wage Week memorable.
We couldn't be prouder of our network of devoted employers, each and every member brings us closer to a fairer and more inclusive society. We look forward to celebrating with you again next year!
The Living Wage team