The UK’s largest charity investment manager CCLA, and Church Investors Group, have received the backing of 16 other investors for their call on British employers to provide living support to low paid workers. The investors include Aviva Investors, Brunel Pension Partnership and Legal & General Investment Management, collectively representing £3.2 trillion in AUM. CCLA had reached out to 100 of the UK’s largest listed employers to enquire about the support being provided to their lowest-paid workers during the cost-of-living crisis. Based on 58 responses, only 25 companies confirmed that they are accredited real living wage employers, while a further six companies stated that they benchmark wages against the real Living Wage but are not accredited. The coalition is encouraging companies to prioritise providing support for the lowest paid employees including uplifting pay and the provision of one-off support, and to consider meeting the new real Living Wage rate and work “in good faith” with workers and unions to reach agreements on pay claims, avoiding potential disruptions. Peter Hugh Smith, CCLA’s Chief Executive, said: “The idea that there are employed people who do not earn enough to support themselves, to eat healthily and have a safe and warm environment in which to live, is morally wrong and financially unsustainable. While we appreciate there are many pressures on companies, it is absolutely imperative that they do more to support their lowest-paid workers.”
