The NHS organisation that plans and commissions health services in North east London has become the first integrated care board to be accredited as a London Living Wage employer
NHS North East London Integrated Care Board – known NHS North East London – oversees services for more than two million people across Barking and Dagenham, City of London, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.
Accreditation means that everyone employed by the ICB directly, or through a partner organisation, will now as a minimum receive the London Living Wage, which is currently set at £13.15 an hour.
The ICB joins more than 14,000 organisations across the country which voluntarily choose to pay the real Living Wage because they believe a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.
Zina Etheridge, Chief Executive Officer, NHS North East London, said: “Our staff are at the heart of everything we achieve for people in north east London.
“Working closely with partners, our teams play a key role in ensuring patients have access to safe, high quality healthcare services – often making a vital contribution unnoticed, behind the scenes.
“That’s why we are so proud to be able to make sure that those who work to provide the best for local people receive a fair wage so that they know they are valued. We will continue to invest in our workforce and find ways to make sure that they are supported and valued.”
The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay, based on the actual cost of living. It is calculated annually and announced by the Living Wage Foundation as part of Living Wage Week. It is currently £12 in the UK, and £13.15 for London – reflecting the higher costs of living in the capital.
The other UK organisations currently paying the Living Wage are listed on the Living Wage Foundation website here: https://www.livingwage.org.uk/living-wage-map.
