Hounslow Council is offering businesses in the borough, a one-off discounted business rates for registering as a Living Wage Employer and paying London Living Wage for one year.

On Tuesday, 24 October, a new London Living Wage for 2023-2024 was announced with the hourly rate increased to £13.15, up 10% from last year.

London Living Wage is a London weighting wage rate which is calculated according to costs of living, based on the prices of a basket of household goods and services in April 2023.

The council is a Living Wage Employer, both for staff and those who work for the companies Hounslow commission.

Several local partners are accredited Living Wage Employers too, for example Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust, University of West London (UWL) and Brentford FC.

Hounslow wants to build on this and is encouraging local businesses to do the same.

Work Hounslow, the Council's Skills and Employment Team, engaged with local employers to commission a study of business engagement strategy and recommendations in March 2023.

The study identified various challenges of businesses and organisations in the borough in employment, such as recruiting individuals with the right skills to help them grow.

It also shared how the council might better support businesses and organisations to offer London Living Wage job opportunities for residents.

The council says the voice of employers is "vital" to ensuring that services support growth in the local economy, and responses to the survey will help shape the Council's future skills programmes.

Councillor Lily Bath, Cabinet Member for Education, Children, Skills and Employment said:

"Hounslow Council is committed to supporting residents into good work. We want to unlock the potential of our residents, with more benefitting from secure, well-paid jobs that offer career progression.

"The London Living Wage also helps employers to attract and retain the very best talent on offer, strengthening their competitiveness.

"Through our Youth Skills & Employment Guarantee (YSEG), we are also offering London Living Wage apprenticeship opportunities across each of our services for young people, with an offer of permanent employment at conclusion, together with a commitment to spend the total value of the Council's apprenticeship levy."

Councillor Shantanu Rajawat, Leader of Hounslow Council, said:

"Becoming accredited as Living Wage Employers is a testament to offering better job prospects for employees and supporting local employment, while local organisations and businesses can also benefit from the accreditation, including better staff morale and productivity.

"We have a thriving local economy in Hounslow, and I encourage more local employers to commit to a fair payment for employees to ensure the benefits of this economic activity is shared more equally with our residents. Businesses that make the pledge will play a key role in our drive to creating a fairer, more equal Hounslow."  

Neil Henderson, Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development at the University of West London (UWL) said:

"UWL has been an accredited Living Wage employer paying London Living Wage rates since April. The rates apply to all jobs including casual job opportunities for current students as well as the staff employed at UWL by external catering and facilities management companies. 

As a local employer, UWL is committed to offering a better salary to our staff including young people to support local employment. Through the accreditation programme, prospective talents can benefit from a higher salary as they start off their careers, whilst it also helps attract and retain talented workers to work in the Higher Education sector."

More information can be found on the Hounslow Council website.

Local employers can contact Work Hounslow team to find out more about London Living Wage accreditation via landline number at 020 8583 6174 and email [email protected]

Details can be found on the Hounslow Council website.

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