02 March 2021
Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge University Press, together with the wider University of Cambridge, have been accredited as living wage employers. The Press and Cambridge Assessment committed to aligning pay to the Real Living Wage in 2018, which has now been formally recognised across all three organisations by the Real Living Wage Foundation.
This means that all UK colleagues, including contractors, receive the minimum hourly wage set by the Real Living Wage foundation each year (currently £9.50).
These rates are significantly higher than the government minimum for over-25s, which currently stands at £8.72 per hour.
The Real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to the costs of living. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers who wish to ensure their staff earn a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum.
Eilís Ferran, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Cambridge, said: “University of Cambridge staff are at the heart of everything we do as one of the world’s top global research-intensive universities. We are delighted to have been given accreditation as a Living Wage Employer, ensuring wages will never be lower than the independent benchmark set by the Living Wage Foundation.”
Laura Gardiner, Director, Living Wage Foundation, said: “We’re delighted that the University of Cambridge has joined the movement of 7,000 responsible employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on. In this difficult time, their commitment will help to give their staff the additional support they need to better support themselves and their families.”
Last year the University of Cambridge announced that it would bring together Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge University Press, with the new unified organisation to launch on 1st August 2021.