Celebrating the people who have made an outstanding contribution to the Living Wage movement
Calling all Living Wage Employers – are you a Living Wage Champion?
The Living Wage Champion Awards celebrate the individuals and organisations who have made an outstanding contribution to the Living Wage movement. The awards recognise the efforts of those across different sectors - from Health and Social care to Hospitality, and from those championing the Living Wage in their local areas to national businesses – it celebrates the people across our network who have created real change and gone above and beyond to champion the Living Wage and grow the movement.
Each year we welcome submissions from our network of over 14,000 accredited businesses from which we announce a shortlist and winners at an awards ceremony in July.
The Champion Awards are a special moment in our calendar where we come together to shine a light on the individuals and organisations behind the Living Wage movement, to share their stories and recognise their achievements.
With 3.5 million workers still being paid below the real Living Wage and half of workers saying they are worse off than a year ago, it’s more important than ever that we inspire change by highlighting the stories of the people and the organisations across our network who are taking a stand and going the extra mile to ensure that employees earn a wage that’s enough to live with dignity.
Nominations for this year's Champion Awards are now closed.
Last year’s Living Wage Champion Awards
In 2023 the award ceremony was held at the National Football Museum in Manchester in recognition of the growth and strength of the Living Wage movement in the region. The event was hosted by BBC North West presenter Annabel Tiffin and kicked off with a speech from Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham. It was a truly amazing evening and was inspiring to hear about all the incredible work being done across the country by organisations big and small to tackle the pressing issues of in-work and post-work poverty. We loved being able to celebrate and shine a spotlight on the work of so many incredible people who often go without recognition for their important work.
Here’s what some of last year’s winners said about what the awards meant to them...
“Winning a Living Wage Award is an absolute privilege, and it tells us we’re on the right path to changing people’s lives for the better.” - Chris Smallwood, Managing Director of Anchor Removals and winner of Advocate of the Year Award 2023
“I couldn’t be prouder to be part of the first business in Yorkshire to receive the Living Hours accreditation and to win an award for all that hard work feels fantastic. Our team continuously goes above and beyond for us and our customers and it’s only fair that we do the same for them.”- Zixtel Ltd, winner of Living Hours Award 2023
“Winning this award certainly is an inspiring achievement and it sets the tone for what all companies should embrace as the foundation.” - Saimah Aktaar, Apprentice at Newham Council, winner of Public Sector Award 2023
“Winning this award means a whole lot to us. Committing to the real living wage in 2020, right in the middle of so much uncertainty for so many of us, is one of the changes we made that I am most proud of. We think it’s vital that we pay every person in our team the real Living Wage for what they do & we’d like to encourage more folks to do the same because we know it’s the right thing to do.” - Phillip Kalli, Managing Director, Fill Refill, winner of Retail and Hospitality Award 2023
This year’s Living Wage Champion Awards ceremony will be held in Cardiff on Thursday 11th July.
