National law firm Clarke Willmott LLP is celebrating its latest accreditation, achieved as part of the firm’s commitment to its ESG strategy.
Clarke Willmott is now a Living Wage Employer, meaning everyone working for the firm will receive a minimum hourly wage of £12.60 (UK living wage) or £13.85 (London living wage), higher than the government minimum for over 21s, which currently stands at £11.44 per hour.
The real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to the costs of living. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their staff earn a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum.
Since it began, the Living Wage movement by the Living Wage Foundation has delivered a pay rise to nearly half a million people and put £3.5 billion extra into the pockets of low paid workers.
Karen Higgins, Clarke Willmott’s head of ESG, said: “Gaining accreditation as a Living Wage Employer was a no-brainer for us. As a responsible business, we want our people to thrive and succeed and a huge part of that is ensuring they are paid fairly and can live comfortably in these challenging economic times.
“Our ongoing ESG strategy aims to address inequalities through positive action. We want to integrate the entire ESG framework into every aspect of our operations – from procurement and supplier selection to the benefits and opportunities we provide to our people.
“Becoming a Living Wage Employer means that all third-party contractors should also be paid the Living Wage, meaning we review our contractors too, widening the impact even further and influencing change for good.”
Katherine Chapman, director at Living Wage Foundation, said: “We’re delighted that Clarke Willmott has joined the movement of over 15,000 responsible employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on.
“They join thousands of small businesses, as well as household names such as Burberry, Barclays, Everton Football Club and many more. These businesses recognise that paying the real Living Wage is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like Clarke Willmott, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.”
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