Friday 19 June 2015 19:26, UK
Norwich City will follow the likes of Chelsea and Hearts by introducing a commitment to pay a Living Wage to their permanent staff.
According to the club’s official website, the Canaries are set to phase in the Living Wage during the upcoming season and are currently working towards accreditation from The Living Wage Foundation (LWF), with the aim of achieving full implementation across its business by the 2016/17 season.
Semi-professional FC United of Manchester were the first football club in Britain to adopt the Living Wage for its employees and Luton Town committed to paying workers the Living Wage in March this year.
The change at Norwich will see all permanent staff paid, as a minimum, the Living Wage as set by The Living Wage Foundation annually.
The Living Wage is currently £9.15 in London or £7.85 an hour outside of the capital, which is higher than the current national minimum wage of £6.50 an hour.
Norwich say they will also start the process of reviewing external agencies and contractors who work at the club to make sure they meet the necessary criteria to receive the Living Wage by 2016-17.
Chief executive David McNally told the Norwich website: "Everyone at the club is firmly behind the introduction of the Living Wage for permanent employees and we're delighted to be able to start rolling this out across the business over this coming season.
"Although it represents a significant additional annual investment by the Club, we firmly believe the business benefits substantially from having a motivated workforce whose salaries properly reflect the cost of living in the UK.
"It is our intention to begin implementing the Living Wage during the 2015-16 season and to have it fully in place by 2016/17."
