The University of Bath has been accredited as a Living Wage employer, meaning it will pay all staff at least the voluntary ‘living wage’ of £9 an hour.
The move, which the university achieved in partnership with trade union UNISON, will mean a pay rise for more than 300 of its 3,300-strong workforce from April.
The university is the second largest employer in Bath and North East Somerset with a workforce that 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 Living Wage Foundation, which accredited the university, has set the living wage at £9 to reflect a truer cost of living once inflation is fully taken into account.
This is significantly higher than the national living wage, set by the government, which is currently at £7.83 for over 25s.
The university’s director of human resources Richard Brooks said: “These are financially challenging times for the sector and it is important that we invest our resources in the right things.
“I am delighted that our commitment to paying the voluntary living wage has been recognised in this way.”
UNISON regional organiser Simon Newell added: “As a trades union, UNISON firmly believes that paying the real living wage is not only the right thing to do, but makes excellent business sense, and we applaud the university for taking this step.
“We hope that other universities will engage with their UNISON branches to gain Living Wage Foundation accreditation and follow the University of Bath’s lead on this.”
Only around a fifth of all UK universities pay the real living wage. Among those that do are the Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool John Moores and Kings College London.
A National Union of Students survey for the Living Wage Foundation last year found 92% of students wanted all university workers to receive the living wage.
The University of Bath is ranked sixth in the UK by The Guardian University Guide 2019, fifth for graduate employment in The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019, and fourth in the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2018.
