COVID-19 impacts every person, business and community. I know that for many of you, this uncertainty will have a very real impact on you and your families. We know that Living Wage Employers who are committed to doing the right thing by their staff are facing unprecedented challenges. It has never been more important for us to stand together and as ever we thank you for your leadership.
We have already heard stories of resilience and kindness from so many employers in our network. For example Brewdog and Pyschopomp Distillery have both re-purposed their commercial alcohol supplies to create sanitiser gels and are giving them away to the most vulnerable in their communities. In Salford, the removal company Anchor Removals are offering to collect weekly shops or supplies for local people unable to leave their homes and deliver it free of charge. We also know that there are Living Wage employers in our network continuing to honour all shifts for contracted workers, regardless of whether they have been cancelled, as everyone works from home. If you're doing something special to help in these exceptional and unprecedented times, please tell us so we can share these stories over the coming weeks.
Our team is working harder than ever to make sure that people are paid the real Living Wage and that the employers we work with are supported. We are working from home as the office has closed but can still get in touch with us in the usual way, and you'll be directed to the right person. Over the coming weeks we will be reaching out to many of you and if you would like to speak to one of the team about your organisations response to Covid-19 please contact us. We are currently experiencing a high volume of requests, so will do our best to get back to you as soon as we can.
We can't know exactly what lies ahead in the coming months, but we do know that the Living Wage movement is strong because it is built on shared values, understanding and co-operation. The qualities that drove you to become Living Wage Employers will be the ones to ensure that workers and their families are protected in the challenges ahead. Over the coming weeks it will be important that the Living Wage movement demonstrates how businesses can treat staff fairly even in an immediate crisis and how we can pull together to protect the most vulnerable in our society. We look forward to working together and wishing you all the best for you and your families in this difficult time.
Yours
Katherine Chapman, Living Wage Foundation
On behalf of the Living Wage team.