Living wage in Preston

Living Wage is a campaign to encourage employers to pay their staff at £7.65 per hour. It has been run in Preston by the city council for 5 years. 

   (Video provider: Preston City Council)

(Self-conducted Map. Data Source: Preston City Council. Living Wage Employers.  http://www.preston.gov.uk/yourservices/jobs-and-volunteering/preston-living-wage/preston-living-wage-employers/)

Despite of 35 employers currently have adopted the project and pay the living wage, there are a number of small business employers not knowing or supporting the proposal. The owner of Equator Art Café thought there are mainly two reasons that he disagrees with the project.

1.     The capability of the small business is limited.

2.     The staffs, especially part-time employers are non-professionals doing jobs with no requirement of qualifications.   

(Self Conducted interview)

Minimum wage is increasing in different age group.

(Data Source: GOV.UK. National Minimum Wage Rates. https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates)

According to the statistics of salary all over the country, there can be another reason for the employers in Preston to find it difficult paying the living wage.

       3. Salary level in Preston is lower than the national standard and London's. (Though the data was from research in 2008, Councillor Brown from the Preston City Council has proved the situation remains the same.) 

The salary level in Preston is lower than the national standard and London's.

( Data Source: Living Wage Foundation http://www.livingwage.org.uk/calculation

                       Great London Authority. 2010. Income and Spending at Home. http://data.london.gov.uk/documents/FocusOnLondon2010-income-and-spending.pdf)


(Self-conducted Map. Data Source: Payscale. (Dec 2013). UK Average Salary Graphs. http://career-advice.monster.co.uk/salary-benefits/pay-salary-advice/uk-average-salary-graphs/article.aspx)


Councillor Matthew Brown from Preston City Council admitted it was hard to persuade small business employers to adopt the living wage. But he thought they could highlight the cost of losing employees from time to time and retrain new staffs for the job because of low pay. And Councillor Brown said there were large private employers like the big four supermarket not paying the living wage which they could have afforded. 

(Below are the interviews with Coucillor Matthew Brown.)