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Swansea University has been accredited as a real living wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation (LWF).
The real living wage is independently calculated based on what employees and their families need to live and is higher than the national living wage set by the UK Government. Updated annually, accredited employers pay the real living wage rate on a voluntary basis.
Swansea’s accreditation from the LWF, which came into effect on 1 June 2020, will allow the University to promote and encourage policies and practices which are an important part of helping its 5,500 staff to lead fulfilling and rewarding working lives.
Accredited real living wage employers report that becoming accredited has helped relations between staff and their managers, has led to an increase in motivation and retention rates, and has helped boost the reputation of their organisation.
Swansea University voluntarily implemented the real living wage for all its salaried employees in April 2019, benefitting more than 1,000 of its lowest paid employees. Since then, it has worked towards gaining its real living wage accreditation from the LWF by:
- Paying the real living wage to all directly employed staff and those who’ve been subcontracted.
- Devising a plan to roll out the real living wage across third party contracts as they come up for renewal.
Andrew Rhodes, Swansea University’s registrar and chief operating officer, said: “Swansea University made a commitment to becoming a real living wage employer in 2019, and so we are exceptionally proud to have received formal accreditation which recognises our commitment to fair pay for our colleagues.
“The success of Swansea University depends on everyone that works here and we believe all of our people deserve a fair rate of pay for the work they do – this is particularly true in the challenging and unsettling times we all face today.”