Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust has increased its pay rates to be in line with the London living wage, backdated to April.
The trust, which operates Queen’s Hospital in Romford and King George Hospital in Ilford (pictured above), has uplifted its band two bank pay and apprentice rates as part of its commitment to support its lowest-paid workers with the rising cost of living in and around London.
The increase will apply to employees undertaking temporary shifts at the hospitals, such as those on the internal staff bank. They will see these changes in their pay slips shortly.
The London living wage is a voluntary hourly rate calculated by the Living Wage Foundation based on what is necessary for staff to afford basic standards of living in London. Sitting above the current £11.44 minimum wage, it rose to £13.15 per hour as of 1 April.
The trust is also working with its suppliers to ensure they meet the London living wage and is applying for the Living Wage Foundation accreditation as of this month (May) in order to attract and retain staff.
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Matthew Trainer, chief executive at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “This is a really important thing to do. We value everyone who works with us, whether substantive staff or contractors, and we want them to earn a salary which reflects the real-world cost-of-living. It’s also key in ensuring we can attract and retain the best people at our Trust across all levels of roles.”
The trust offers employees an extensive wellbeing programme, access to physiotherapy and an occupational health service, in-house fitness initiatives, salary sacrifice schemes for cars, bikes, technology and white goods, reward and recognition schemes, free eye tests and discounted gym memberships.