The University of Bath, one of the city’s largest employers, is to pay the voluntary Living Wage from next month, it announced this afternoon.
The university said it was committed to paying “at least” the voluntary Living Wage of £8.75 an hour to all staff – a move that will increase the pay of more than 300 of its 3,300 employees.
It goes further than the obligatory national living wage, set by the government at £7.83 for over 25s, which the university has operated for the past three years.
That followed a long-running campaign by the main unions at the university including UNISON, the University and College Union (UCU), and Unite along with Bath Students against Fees and Cuts, urging it to end what they described as ‘poverty wages’.
The university’s workforce spans 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.
It is applying for accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation. Once that is in place, the university will be committed to implementing that rate in common with other voluntary Living Wage employers.
Just over 200 businesses and organisations currently pay the voluntary living wage across the South West – although the University of Bath is understood to be the first higher education establishment to have signed up.
Director of HR Richard Brooks said: “The people who work in all our departments are essential for both the success of the University and the experience of our students.
“A number of our stakeholder groups have made representations on this issue, and we have listened carefully and responded to those views.
“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.”
The university is also planning to give staff who receive a weekend working supplement the option of moving to a simpler pay structure, which it said would benefit the vast majority of affected workers.
The Living Wage Foundation says its figure of £8.75 reflects a truer cost of living once inflation is fully taken into account. Further rises are considered in November each year with accredited employers committed to implementing subsequent, further increases.
The university is ranked fifth in the UK by The Guardian University Guide 2018, sixth for graduate employment and fourth in The Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2018. Bath has also been named Sports University of the Year 2018 by The Times and The Sunday Times.
