Celebrating Living Wage Week: UEL looks back at a decade of achievement

The Royal Docks is proud to be one of the UK’s first accredited Living Wage Places, setting a benchmark for sustainable livelihoods. Recognized as a ‘Living Wage Places Champion’ last year, the Royal Docks is home to 32 of Newham’s 92 accredited employers.

Leading the way is the University of East London (UEL), which recently celebrated 10 years as a Living Wage employer. Professor Amanda Broderick, UEL’s Vice-Chancellor and President, reflects on a decade of achievement in championing fair pay.

At the University of East London (UEL), our purpose as a charitable organisation is to tackle economic and health inequalities wherever they are found. This ambition informs everything we do, particularly in our immediate communities – from expanding access to higher education, to embedding socially responsible processes and practices across our institution.

Since our foundation in 1898, UEL has sought to serve its communities as best we can. For these 126 years, we have driven positive change not only through education, research, and knowledge exchange, but as a civic anchor committed to community wealth building. To us, this is not simply a phrase – it is a commitment to bettering the lives of those in our communities. But this would all be talk if we did not follow up on this commitment with tangible action that benefits our borough.

One aspect of this action has been visible in our commitment to paying the Living Wage. We have been a Living Wage employer for over a decade, one of only 10 universities that have been doing so for more than 10 years. The Living Wage is a voluntary pay-rate paid by more than 15,000 UK employers. It is the only wage rate based on the cost of living and currently stands at £12.60 per hour. Due to higher living costs in the capital, the London Living Wage that we pay is set higher, at £13.85 an hour.

From the start of our Living Wage story in 2010 to becoming accredited in 2013, to becoming the Living Wage Champion for east London - working with other organisations in the Royal Docks to advocate for employers to pay the Living Wage – we have been at the forefront of this movement. Our campaigning has resulted in 32 companies and organisations in the Royal Docks introducing the London Living Wage, which has helped raise the pay of more than 200 people beyond our University.

It makes sense that we have been working closely with the Living Wage Foundation as their campaign started here in east London. The campaigning organisation Citizens UK brought together churches, mosques, schools and other local institutions to talk about the issues affecting their communities. One issue which came up again and again was low pay. With 90% of all health outcomes socially determined, financial health is key. Prompted by this, community leaders and Citizens UK launched their campaign to persuade companies to pay salaries that would enable their employees to live a decent life.

Since that campaigning initiative took root in our local area, over 475,000 employees across the country have received a pay rise as a direct result of the Living Wage campaign and the organisation enjoys cross-party support. A broad range of employers are accredited with the Living Wage Foundation including half of the FTSE 100 including Nationwide, Google, LUSH, Everton FC and Chelsea FC, as well as thousands of SMEs.

Looking back at this decade of being a Living Wage employer, I am proud to lead an organisation that has made clear its commitment to social justice and equity. With this commitment underpinning everything we do, we will continue our work as an anchor institution in east London and a global gateway, investing in cutting-edge research, infrastructure, and education to create a greener, healthier, fairer world.

For more information on how to become Living Wage accredited visit the Living Wage Foundation or email taskia.khan@livingwage.org.uk

The real Living Wage rates are the only independently calculated hourly rates that are based on the cost of living. The Living Wage Foundation's accreditation recognises and celebrates employers who pay the Real Living Wage to their workers and relevant subcontracted staff.

The Living Wage accreditation is the mark of responsible employment, showing that an employer has made a public commitment to keeping wages in line with the cost of living. There are now over 15,000 Living Wage accredited employers across the country, benefiting from improved recruitment, retention, and reputation.