As the second largest employer in Bath and North East Somerset, the University of Bath is set to begin voluntarily paying Living Wage, benefitting around 300 of their employees.
The workforce of 3,300 people at the University combines academics who teach and research and staff who provide a range of services including student support, accommodation, retail and catering and looking after the campus grounds and buildings.
The move to pay at least the voluntary Living Wage of £8.75 an hour to all staff will positively affect more than 300 employees.
Director of HR at the University, Richard Brooks, said: “I’m pleased to announce that the University is applying for accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation.
“The people who work in all our departments are essential for both the success of the University and the experience of our students.
“We will pay the voluntary Living Wage from the start of May reflecting our commitment to ensure salaries keep pace with the cost of living.
“A number of our stakeholder groups have made representations on this issue, and we have listened carefully and responded to those views.”
UNISON, the public service union representing the staff affected, has welcomed the decision as an ‘urgently needed first step’ towards addressing low pay, but warned that ‘more must be done to tackle well publicised inequality’ at the university.
Christopher Roche, UNISON branch secretary at the University of Bath said: “We are pleased that university senior management have agreed to reinstate a Living Wage.
“Staff and students were appalled when university bosses sought to force low paid staff to choose between their weekend protections and receiving a living wage.
“The prospect of a consultative ballot for industrial action seems to have persuaded university management to reconsider and agree to pay a Living Wage unconditionally.
“A Living Wage is the absolute minimum any worker should expect, particularly in an organisation that chooses to pay its senior managers as much as those at the University of Bath.
“UNISON members stood their ground to demand a Living Wage and I hope they serve as an inspiration for other workers in the area.
“We look forward to collectively addressing the remaining problems at the university, including maintaining appropriate enhancements for staff required to work weekends, the lack of pay progression for staff on lower grades, their under-representation in university governance and the widespread use of zero hours contracts.
“After a torrid 18 months of bad publicity, I hope the reinstatement of the Living Wage marks a turning point in the way our university is run.”