Arecent survey of all UK universities indicates that 54 per cent of them are accredited living wage payers and when combined with those paying the voluntary living wage this rises to 82 per cent.
There is little difference by mission group. A third of universities do not require contractors to pay the living wage. There are 22 universities in the UK who do not pay a living wage to their directly employed staff.
Over the past few years I have spent my Christmas and New Year break reviewing which universities pay a living wage. Sad maybe, but I think the living wage is an important indicator of a university’s social purpose not least around the burgeoning “civic university” agenda. Some do not agree with that notion, arguing that it is too simplistic, but frankly I disagree.
I think it is a simple moral argument that if you claim to be civic, or celebrate your social purpose in other ways, treating your lowest paid employees with dignity by paying them a living wage is a baseline requirement. Put simply, you can’t be civic if you don’t pay a living wage.
