The Crown Estate, which runs property and land owned by the Queen, is the first national property business to make a commitment to pay all its staff the living wage.
All its employees, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or contractors, receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.15 per hour in London and £7.85 outside of London, which is significantly above the national minimum wage of £6.50.
The firm owns property such as Eagle Place, Regents street (pictured), Princes street and Crown Point shopping park in Leeds.
The Crowne Estate joins HSBC, Chelsea Football Club, SSE, Santander, Yorkshire Water, Luton Town Football Club, GSK and Burberry, which have previously been accredited as living wage employers.
Alison Nimmo, chief executive of The Crown Estate said: “A successful business is one that values its employees and we are very proud to have become the first national property business to become living wage accredited.
“We want to underline our commitment to our talented employees who work across a diverse range of sectors, from London’s West End and regional retail through to offshore wind and strategic land, and work with our supply chain to encourage them to follow our lead.”
Rhys Moore, director of the Living Wage Foundation said: “We are very pleased to be able to welcome The Crown Estate to the living wage movement as an accredited employer. The size and scale of The Crown Estate will help extend the reach of the living wage, and we hope, encourage far more interest in the living wage from the property development and land management sector.
At a time when over half of those in poverty are also in work, the living wage can make a real difference to hard working families, often being the difference between a trip to the food bank or a weekly shop.
“Accrediting as a living wage employer means that everyone in [a] workforce, including sub-contracted teams such as cleaning and catering staff, are paid at least the living wage.
“We believe work should be the surest way out of poverty and it is encouraging to see that some of the UK’s most successful and leading businesses also recognise that work should pay. Over 1,300 businesses are living wage employers, who reward a hard day’s work with a fair day’s pay.”