St Helier Becomes Living Wage Employer

St Helier is the first Jersey parish to become a Living Wage employer.

It means all staff and contractors working for the Town Hall are paid at least £11.27 an hour.

The parish employs more than 220 people.

The Living Wage considers the cost of living, taxes, and the value of benefits available to people on low incomes.

Constable Simon Crowcroft says he's delighted to be the first parish in Jersey to achieve this accreditation.

"Achieving accreditation is important to us as it is calculated according to the real costs of living, based on a basket of household goods and services.

We believe that work should be rewarded by a level of pay that can provide a basic standard of living and enables people to provide for themselves and their families.

We feel that accreditation allows us to demonstrate our commitment to paying a fair wage to all staff: employees and contractors. Achieving the accreditation demonstrates the Parish’s commitment to its employees and our aims in respect of engagement with the local community.

We aim to continue to be an employer of choice, and by paying a fair wage we hope to continue attracting and retaining the best people to support our strategy so that St Helier is a vibrant, safe, engaging and attractive Parish where people choose to live, work and visit."

Caritas is licenced to run the Living Wage campaign in Jersey.

CEO, Patrick Lynch, says they're looking forward to working with the other parishes in the hope they'll follow St Helier's lead.

"It is wonderful that the Parish of St. Helier has become the first Parish to become accredited.

Caritas is hugely pleased with the recent surge in interest in our Living Wage Campaign and our work to lift people out of poverty by ensuring they receive a Living Wage."

All States-owned bodies will be told to be officially accredited 'Living Wage' employers by the end of 2022 if a States proposition is approved next month.