HDFT adopts the Living Wage

Posted on: Wednesday 23 Dec 2015

Almost 400 NHS staff in North Yorkshire will see an increase in their salary this month following a decision by Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust to adopt the Living Wage.

The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently by the Living Wage Foundation and calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK.
It is recalculated annually during the first week in November and has just increased to £8.25 per hour (outside London) which equates to a full time salary (37.5 hours per week) of £16,131.72.

There is currently no mandate for organisations to pay the Living Wage and employers choose to pay it on a voluntary basis.

Hilary Bland, UNISON Branch Secretary at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are pleased that the Trust has implemented the Living Wage in line with other Trusts in the area. Previously some of our members had more than one job to supplement their income and this has come as a welcome initiative. It is the right and decent thing to do.”

In April this year HDFT’s Director Team approved a proposal to adopt the Living Wage with effect from 1 November 2015 for the 397 who were paid less than that amount.

Phillip Marshall, Director of Workforce and Organisational Development AT Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I am delighted with this decision. Paying the Living Wage is good for our Trust, good for our staff and good for our society.

“We are a significant employer in Harrogate, with the hospital, and across North Yorkshire in our community services. We feel strongly that it is the right thing to do in terms of improving the quality of life for our staff.”

All staff who will benefit from this decision have received written confirmation during November of their new hourly rate of pay.