Guy's and St Thomas' becomes 6,000th Living Wage employer

Monday 27 January 2020


St Thomas' Hospital exterior

Guy’s and St Thomas’ is to pay all its staff an independently calculated ‘living wage’ for London.

This means the Trust has gone beyond the Government’s new National Living Wage that starts in April this year at £8.72 per hour by paying the real London Living Wage, which is set at £10.75. This is an independently calculated rate that ensures workers can meet the cost of living and earn enough to support themselves and their families.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ becomes the 6,000th Living Wage employer joining organisations such as Oxfam, Nationwide and Queen Mary University.

All substantive staff employed by Guy’s and St Thomas’ under the nationally set NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) pay scale already earn above the London Living Wage. The commitment by the Trust to pay at least the London living wage will mean that the lowest paid bank workers, staff who work additional hours on an ad hoc basis, will see their hourly rate always at least match the London Living Wage.

As an accredited London Living wage employer, the Trust, which has 17,100 staff, will ensure that bank rates will increase on an annual basis to match the London Living wage hourly rate, a move that will cost at least £142,000 this year.

A total of 795 bank staff saw their wages rise after the London Living Wage was first implemented in June last year. The Trust will also require external contractors to pay at least the London Living wage to staff working within the Trust when contracts are renewed.

This potentially will affect 259 contracted or subcontracted staff members. This does not include staff working for retail outlets on Trust premises.

Julie Screaton, Guy’s and St Thomas’ chief people officer, said: “We are delighted to be the 6,000th London Living Wage employer.

“Our staff are our biggest asset so it’s right that we pay everyone at least the London Living Wage to meet the higher costs of living in the capital.  It’s important that our workers and their families earn enough to afford the essentials and to save.

“We are also working with our third party contractors so that when contracts come up for renewal, they will also pay their staff working in the hospital at least the London Living Wage.”

Katherine Chapman, Director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: “We’ve seen a huge increase in the number of organisations committing to pay a real Living Wage over the past year, and we’re delighted to announce such a prestigious institution as Guy’s and St Thomas’ as our 6,000th accredited Living Wage Employer.

“Workers at Guy’s and St Thomas’ do incredible, vital work, and deserve to be paid a decent wage. The Trust is showing real leadership as a responsible business by committing to pay workers a wage that covers the cost of living, and we hope to see many other NHS Trusts now follow suit.”

This commitment covers all directly employed hospital staff and includes staff at Essentia, which is Guy’s and St Thomas’ estates, facilities, capital development and IT directorate. The workforce at Guy’s and St Thomas’ joint venture pathology company Viapath will see a raise to at least the London Living Wage in April 2020.

Last updated: March 2022

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