Merton College gains Living Wage Employer accreditation

We are delighted to announce that we are now an accredited Living Wage Employer. The college joins over 2,500 employers nationwide in guaranteeing an hourly rate of at least £8.25 to all of our employees, whether full-time or part-time. Although not a specific requirement of the scheme, we've also committed to treat our casual staff in the same way, meaning that they too receive at least the Living Wage rate.

Our accreditation is the result of a commitment we made in 2014 to pay our staff at least the Living Wage rate, which is calculated according to the real cost of living, including food, fuel, childcare and more. The college has since been able to demonstrate to the Living Wage Foundation, who operate the scheme, that (as at November 2015) out of our 204 academic and non-academic staff, 13 full-time and 21 part-time members had benefitted from an increase in their pay; and an additional 35 casual staff had also received a boost to their hourly rate. The college is now looking to extend this initiative to the agency staff that we use.

The Warden, Sir Martin Taylor FRS, said,

"This is a really proud moment for the college, and underlines our commitment to our talented and dedicated staff who contribute every day towards making Merton an extraordinary place in which to learn, to teach, to live, and to visit."

Living Wage Foundation Director, Katherine Chapman said:

"We are delighted to welcome Merton College to the Living Wage movement as an accredited employer.

“The best employers are voluntarily signing up to pay the Living Wage now. The Living Wage is a robust calculation that reflects the real cost of living, rewarding a hard day’s work with a fair day’s pay.

“We have accredited over 2,500 leading employers, including Merton College, ranging from independent printers, bookshops and breweries, to well-known companies such as Nationwide, Aviva and SSE. These businesses recognise that clinging to the national minimum wage is not good for business. Customers expect better than that."