FDA Assistant General Secretary Lucille Thirlby on why the FDA is proud to be an accredited Living Wage employer and why she’d encourage other employers to do the same.

The FDA is proud to be an accredited Living Wage employer. We’re committed to investing in our team and, based on our trade union values, we believe that fair pay and working conditions enable us to be a successful organisation working with and on behalf of our members.

There are now over 5,500 accredited Living Wage Employers and the FDA urges other organisations to set this at their goal. The universal adoption of the Living Wage is good for workers and employers alike – to put it simply, it makes economic sense.

Why? Fair pay benefits all employees, from cleaners to chief executives. In practice, increasing pay to the Living Wage allows for significant improvements in the way individuals live.

An accredited Living Wage employer can ensure fair pay for lower paid staff. This means that their earnings are based on the actual cost of living, which will in turn help them to have a better work/life balance.

Staff who are paid enough to cover the cost of living are more likely to feel valued for the work they do, helping them to feel more included in the workplace and deliver more for their employer. In fact, 93% of the Living Wage network says it has benefitted their business, with 86% reporting an increase in staff motivation since accrediting.

Given that there is a significant gender segregation within key employment sectors, which leads women to be dominant in the lower quartiles of pay structures, more organisations becoming Living Wage employers will also ensure that some of the impact of segregation on the gender pay gap will start to be eroded.

At the FDA we value the contributions of all of our staff and feel strongly that everyone should earn a wage that can cover the cost of living. This Living Wage Week we’d encourage other employers to do the same.

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