Norwich City Football Club is the latest Top 100 company to offer the living wage. Ben Woods takes a closer look at the social movement sweeping through the corporate world.
When the subject of staff pay comes to the fore, keeping workers happy at the top end of the business is often seen as the number one priority in a bid to hold onto talent.
But a greater focus on some of the lowest earners in society is gaining traction thanks to a social movement fighting for better pay.
Campaigners have been calling on firms to pay all their workers a living wage of at least £7.65 per hour – instead of the national minimum wage of £6.50 for workers aged 21 and over – in an effort to boost living standards and drive further cash into the economy.
And some of Norfolk and Suffolk's biggest companies within the Eastern Daily Press and East Anglian Daily Times Top 100 have already nailed their colours to the mast by coming out in support of the initiative.
Bury St Edmunds-based facilities management company Servest announced in November last year that 15 of its apprentices working on a cleaning contract for the House of Parliament would be paid a London Living Wage of £9.15 per hour.
It comes after Norwich-based insurer Aviva revealed in April 2014 that it would pay its entire staff – including cleaners, caterers and all sub-contractors – a living wage.
The latest business to agree to step forward and show its commitment to fair pay is Norwich City Football, a new entrant to the Top 100 this year.
The club, which pays some of the highest wages in the region to its football squad, is set to phase in the living wage during the 2015-16 season.
The change will see all permanent members of staff paid the living wage as set by The Living Wage Foundation, while it will also start reviewing agencies and contractors which work with the club to make sure they meet the criteria.
David McNally, chief executive of Norwich City Football Club, said: 'Everyone at the club is firmly behind the introduction of the Living Wage for permanent employees and we're delighted to be able to start rolling this out across the business over this coming season.
'Although it represents a significant additional annual investment by the club, we firmly believe the business benefits substantially from having a motivated workforce whose salaries properly reflect the cost of living in the UK.
'It is our intention to begin implementing the Living Wage during the 2015-16 season and to have it fully in place by 2016-17.'
Any company with a conscience aspires to deliver the best conditions they can for their workers.
But turning those ambitions into the kind of action that boosts staff salaries can prove difficult – even for big business.
While some firms have remained in recovery mode following the fallout of the financial crisis, others continue to face cost pressures brought about by the challenging economic climate within the Eurozone, which refuses to fire on all cylinders.
The energy industry – renowned for paying high wages – is an example of one sector which has had to slash pay in response to the pressures placed on contracts caused by the falling oil price.
However, there was better news for workers' pay earlier this month as wage rises reached their highest rate for nearly four years.
Total pay climbed by 2.7pc compared with a year earlier in the three months to April. It was the biggest rise since August 2011, and up from a revised 2.3pc in the three months to March. Ultra-low inflation - which fell to minus 0.1pc in April - meant the surge in pay was worth more in real terms.
For some companies, the attraction of paying the Living Wage is as much about corporate social responsibility as it is about giving workers a fair deal. Accredited businesses will be hoping to lure customers with an ethical conscience as well as boosting the productivity of their staff.
But the Living Wage Foundation believes a company which offers the higher pay band can improve employee retention and recruitment.
Speaking about Norwich City Football Club's decision to adopt the living wage, Rhys Moore, director of the Living Wage Foundation said: 'Being a Living Wage employer means that all staff, both directly employed and sub contracted workers like cleaning and catering staff, receive the Living Wage hourly rate of pay.
'When Norwich City complete their Living Wage accreditation they will join Premier League winners Chelsea FC at the top of the table for fair pay.
'We hope to see the other clubs follow the lead of these two teams and reward their staff with a fair day's pay for a hard day's work.
'We believe work should be the surest way out of poverty.'
The campaign group Living Wage Norwich, chaired by Tony Gammage, and Norwich City Council will coordinate a range of events across the City this November to celebrate Living Wage Week.
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