The Black Antelope Group celebrates Living Wage Awareness Week 2022

In January 2018, The Black Antelope Group announced that it had been accredited as a Living Wage Employer. 4 years on, the organisation still believes in this commitment and continues to be a Living Wage Employer. 

The commitment involves making sure that everyone working at The Black Antelope Group, regardless of whether they are direct employees or third-party contracted staff; receive a minimum hourly wage of £10.90 in the UK or £11.95 in London.

Living Wage Awareness Week is the annual celebration of the Living Wage movement and takes place between the 14-20th November 2022 this year. With prices at their highest rate in decades, the real living wage has become more important than ever. Therefore, this movement helps to protect people in their workplace to be able to live through these difficult times.

The Black Antelope Group chose to become a Living Wage Employer because it believes that ‘every one of us have a social responsibility to try and tackle the inequities that exist in our society’. Today these inequities can still be seen in society so it is pivotal that businesses sign up to becoming living wage employers and become responsible employers. The cost of living crisis in 2022 is causing a lot of people fear of not being able to afford necessities. Organisations becoming a Living Wage Employer is the best way to counter this fear as it provides a new minimum for employees that should be enough to cover the necessities that they so desperately need. 

When The Black Antelope Group became a Living Wage Employer in early 2018, the movement had only acquired 3700 UK employers. Today that number is much higher: the living wage movement as of September 2022 has accumulated 11,000 employers who believe in the values and responsibilities of being a Living Wage Employer. 

Since January 2022 the living wage movement has managed to get £338m in extra wages to go to low paid workers and has managed to acquire more than £2bn since 2011. The new rates are now worth almost £3000 more per year in the UK than the minimum wage, and almost £5000 more in London. This is a massive step towards reducing the amount of inequity from employers and creating a stable environment for employees.

We encourage every employer, however, big or small, to become a part of the movement as we celebrate Living Wage Awareness Week 2022.