Leading Brighton and Hove employer backs living wage campaign

One of the biggest employers in Brighton and Hove has signed up to the living wage campaign.

Sussex Community Trust said that it was the first NHS organisation in Sussex to be accredited as a living wage employer.

The living wage is an hourly wage rate that ensures working people on the lowest incomes achieve an improved standard of living for them and their families.

The rate is currently £7.45 an hour for those working outside London – more than the legal minimum wage which stands at £6.19 an hour for over 21s. On Tuesday 1 October it goes up to £6.31.

Sussex Community Trust said that all staff whose pay was below £7.45 an hour had received a pay rise to top up their pay from Saturday 1 June.

It added: “The living wage will also apply to all new employees who join the trust.”

Caroline Fox, director of human resources and organisational development at the trust, said: “We recognise and value the work carried out by all our staff and we’re delighted to have achieved accreditation as a living wage employer.

“We employ more than 4,000 staff across Brighton and Hove and West Sussex and this accreditation reinforces our commitment to increase the wellbeing of our staff.”

Ngaire Cox, staffside chairman representing trade unions at the trust, said: “The implementation of the living wage recognises the hard work of staff who work in ancillary roles, especially at a time of economic hardship.

“We hope this will support future recruitment and retention of our staff to make us an employer of choice.”

The living wage is calculated in line with the basic cost of living and reviewed annually.

For information about the living wage campaign in Brighton and Hove, click here.