Clubs urged to pay staff at least £9 an hour

LONDON: Premier League clubs are being urged to “fix the injustice” of not paying all of the staff who work at their grounds the real Living Wage.Of the 20 clubs in next season’s top flight, only Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and West Ham are accredited payers of the hourly rate, which is £10.55 in London and £9 elsewhere.

Calculated by the Living Wage Foundation every year and based on what a family needs to get by, these voluntary rates are higher than the statutory national minimum wage and — for those aged over 25 — national living wage, which are £7.70 and £8.21, respectively.

More than 5,000 British companies have become accredited Living Wage Employers since 2001, including one third of the FTSE 100, which means they have committed to increasing their minimum hourly rate every year and ensuring their suppliers do so, too.

This last point is the main stumbling block for the sports industry, which typically involves large numbers of caterers, cleaners, security guards and other contracted staff working at clubs but being paid only the statutory rates.