NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has become an accredited Living Wage employer, positioning them as the largest NHS Board in Scotland to have done so. The recognition comes during Living Wage Week and has been warmly welcomed by Living Wage Scotland and the Poverty Alliance.
NHSGGC’s Living Wage commitment will see everyone working for the Health Board receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.50, which will rise each year to match future rates. This new Living Wage rate was announced on Monday 9th November as part of Living Wage Week.
NHSGGC has paid all 39,000 employees the real Living Wage since April 2011. The real Living Wage is a higher rate than the government’s minimum wage. NHSGGC chose to go beyond the legal minimum and ensure that all its staff would receive a rate of pay that is based on the cost of living.
Full time workers receiving the independently calculated Living Wage earn over £1500 more each year than the government’s ‘National Living Wage’.
Over time, this accreditation will benefit workers employed by third party contractors and is a long-term commitment to all its staff that they will continue to be paid the Living Wage.
Anne MacPherson, Director of HR and Organisational Development said:
“As our employees were already paid the real Living Wage, the final part of the Accreditation journey was to contact all suppliers with staff working on our sites to inform them of our intention to become Accredited and to ask them to consider uplifting their staff to the real Living Wage if they were not on it already.
The majority of our suppliers already paid their staff the real Living Wage, a number of others uplifted their staff to the rate, and timescales were created for the rest to enable real Living Wages for all contracted staff.”
Dorothy McEarlean, Staff Director said:
“We are pleased NHSGGC is recognised as a Living Wage employer. Increasing the wages of the lowest paid employees and reducing the level of in-work poverty is a key priority for our unions – many families are currently facing financial strain because of the pandemic. We commend the organisation for ensuring all staff working on our sites, whether NHSGGC employees or contracted staff, will receive the real Living Wage rate.”
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde fulfils key roles and provide essential services in their area, and the pandemic has shone a light on the important role of key workers in keeping our society going. Through their accreditation, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is helping to ensure that their key workers are free to focus on their vital work, while their families have what they need to thrive.
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance said:
“We are delighted that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has become an accredited Living Wage employer. “We know that the real Living Wage can bring improvements in both the physical and mental wellbeing of workers and is an important aspect of tackling both in-work poverty health inequalities in Scotland.
The accreditation of NHS GGC as the largest health board in Scotland signals to all major employers and public institutions that they too can do right by their workers by becoming Living Wage accredited.”
Business and Fair Work Minister Jamie Hepburn said:
“I am pleased to see Greater Glasgow & Clyde Health Board announcing their Living Wage Accreditation today. I congratulate them in showing continued commitment to their staff while joining a growing number of employers across all sectors of the economy paying at least the real Living Wage.
As a key component of fair work, which is central to our economic recovery, the Scottish Government encourages all employers regardless of size or sector to consider paying the real Living Wage.”