ACH becomes a Living Wage employer

We are delighted to announce that we are now an accredited Living Wage employer! This means that every member of staff working ACH and Himilo will earn a real Living Wage.

The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living. It is calculated each year and is announced by the Living Wage Foundation as part of Living Wage Week. It is currently £9 in the UK, with a higher rate of £10.55 for London, reflecting the higher costs of living in the capital. 

This has been something ACH has actually been doing for some time now, but we felt it was finally time to get accredited and join the growing movement of thousands of organisations, businesses and people, across the UK, who believe that a hard day's work deserves a fair day’s pay!

Fairness is key to the work we do, as we envisage a future where refugees are treated equally, and able to gain sustainable employment with fair wages. And we couldn’t push this agenda without first ensuring our staff earn enough to live on.

This commitment applies to not only directly employed staff but also to our third party contracted staff. ACH have a plan in place to ensure that all our third party contracted staff, such as our cleaners, are paid the real Living Wage. 

We are very proud of this commitment and to be able to share the good news.

Eileen Means, Vice-Chair of ACH said: “ACH has paid all of its staff from cleaners/caretakers to CEO a Living Wage for quite a few years; but it is marvellous to receive formal accreditation. Well done everyone!”