Living Wage Foundation Archives

Living Wage Week 2025: The Difference It Makes

From the 10^th – 16^th November, Living Wage Week is the annual celebration of the Living Wage movement, run by the Living Wage Foundation. First launched in 2001, the Living Wage campaign advocates for everyone to earn in accordance with increasing living costs.

Corps Security is proud to be one of the 16,000 employers committed to providing the Real Living Wage (RLW). As a Living Wage Recognised Service Provider, we are committed to paying all directly employed members of staff the RLW or above, and advocate for it in every client bid. As of today, 97 per cent of our colleagues earn at or above the RLW. This year, the Living Wage Week theme “The difference it makes” highlights how the day-to-day impact the wage has on people’s lives.

What the difference means

Earlier this month, the Living Wage Foundation announced that the RLW will increase to £14.90 (a 6.9 per cent increase) in London and £13.45 (a 6.7 per cent increase) across the rest of the UK. Every year, the independent body of the Living Wage Commission calculates the wage, based on a public consultation method called the ‘Minimum Income Standard.’

The increase has a significant impact on every worker as we tackle the ongoing high costs of living. For security officers, our CEO, Mike Bullock, who previously co-chaired the Recognised Service Provider steering group, reflected on the impact it has:

“We proudly continue to champion fair pay across our industry and urge all employers to join us in ensuring colleagues are paid a wage they can truly live on.

“Security officers working on the front line face a unique set of challenges. They are often the first responders in emergencies, managing everything from public safety incidents to medical situations. Their roles demand vigilance, resilience, and the ability to remain calm and professional under pressure.

“Ensuring that security officers receive fair pay through the Real Living Wage recognises the critical role they play and provides the financial stability and respect they so rightly deserve.”

Advocating for change

As the Living Wage Foundation’s toolkit outlines, competitive tenders often involve a race to the bottom, with providers trying to offer lower rates than competitors. Acknowledging that our officers provide an essential service to businesses should also mean acknowledging that they deserve fair wages, especially during competitive tenders.

Advocating for the RLW at each client site also improves our business: those who earn it are more likely to stay, and it improves productivity, meaning that we provide better services to our customers.

Find out more

Paying the Real Living Wage clearly makes a difference to the everyday lives of service workers, including cleaners, caterers, hospitality workers, and, of course, security officers.

Living Wage Week runs from the 10^th to the 16^th of November, with events happening up and down the country for people to gather, raise awareness and discuss the changes their organisations are making.

Find out more about our work as a, or read our latest news and stories

November 10, 2025/by Corps Security

Corps Security Blog

The Real Living Wage: From Surviving To Thriving

In October, the Living Wage Foundation determined the Real Living Wage (RLW) is £13.85 in London and £12.60 across the rest of the UK. To date, 15,000 employers pay the RLW, including FTSE 100 companies, tech companies and retailers, and 460,000 employees have received a pay increase because of the Living Wage Campaign.

Last year, the National Living Wage (previously referred to as the minimum wage) increased to £11.44 for those aged 21 and over. This is the statutory amount and set as a percentage of median earnings. The recent budget set a further increase to NLW at £12.21, but this doesn’t consider a London pay lift.

The Living Wage Foundation argues that National Living Wage isn’t enough to pay for basic items such as groceries and unplanned emergencies. Studies show that 42 percent of workers who earn below the RLW have less than £10 left after paying for essentials.

Data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed that 12.9 percent of UK employees earned less than the RLW in April 2023. The Trussell Trust’s foodbank reported distributing 3.1 million food parcels between April 2023 and March 2024, 65% of these going to families with dependencies. It’s clear more people need help to get their basic needs met as the cost of living rises.

Why did Corps Security become a Living Wage Recognised Service Provider?

Corps Security has always put people at the heart of what we do. When Captain Sir Edward Walter founded the Corps of Commissionaires in 1859, he did so with compassion for those who were returning from the Crimean War. Today, we have the same level of focus on care for our people. Paying people a wage that is fair and that they can live on is imperative.

As a Living Wage Recognised Service Provider, our CEO Mike Bullock, who previously co-chaired the steering group, explains:

“No security officer, who protects the public at work, should go home feeling unsupported and suffering financially. The RLW is just one of the many ways employers can look after colleagues, and it makes a big difference. In fact, it is often a lifeline for countless individuals and families striving to make ends meet.

“Corps Security is a proud supporter of the Real Living Wage, and we are committed to ensuring our employees receive fair pay. We have a collective responsibility as employers to provide our colleagues with the means to improve their quality of life.”

How can you find out more about the Living Wage Foundation?

As part of Living Wage Week (4-10^th November 2024), the Living Wage Foundation is running a series of activities around the country. Click here to access all the events happening during the event.

To learn more about our history providing the Real Living Wage, read here.

November 4, 2024/by Corps Security

Corps Security Blog

Real Living Wage: What It Means

As families across the UK continue to struggle against the cost-of-living crisis, many do not earn an income they can live on. This is where the Real Living Wage (RLW) comes in. Developed by the Living Wage Foundation, it accredits organisations who agree to pay a living wage reflective of the current economic climate in the UK.

The wage has recently increased by 10 percent to reflect the living crisis, offering workers’ an hourly base rate of £12.00 through the UK, and £13.15 in London. This is a lifeline for many, as sixty percent of those earning below the RLW were forced to rely on food banks in the past year.

Currently, there are 460,000 workers employed by the 14,000 organisations that have signed up to pay the RLW. However, this still leaves many UK workers vulnerable in times of economic uncertainty. 3.5 million, or 12 per cent, of the UK workforce currently earn below the RLW.

Recognised service providers

The Living Wage Foundation members include different types of employers; those who pay their staff directly, and those who are service providers that deliver client contracts and employ subcontracted staff.

Corps falls into the latter category, meaning that we have a less straight set path to offering the RLW. For many service providers, especially those in the facilities management industry, clients that pay for facilities and security services often push back against paying a higher wage.

To address this, the Living Wage Foundation formed the steering group for recognised service providers, which our CEO Mike Bullock has now co-chaired for two years. Major property and FM industry providers are part of the group, including CBRE, Compass Group, and JLL PAM. We come together to address and dispel the reservations of firms in the sector and offer guidance to those willing to embrace the RLW.

For Corps, this has meant that we have walked away from contracts that do not include the RLW. Since joining the foundation in 2019, 33 per cent of Corps employees were paid the RLW. We are now proud to state that we are at 98.7 per cent RLW, with an ambition to hit 100 per cent by the end of our financial year.

This number of recognised service providers is also growing. We are now just shy of 200 members, who advocate for improved wages and convince their clients to increase their employees paid the RLW. However, we recognise that this goal is not an easy one for any organisation to reach. We have worked for years to be in a financial position that allows Corps to reject non-RLW contracts.

Real Living Wage is good for business

For Corps, the RLW has allowed us to secure more and better contracts. It does, however, increase our base cost. This higher investment is not easy for any employer to promise, especially during a time of economic uncertainty. Many organisations will not want to commit themselves to contractual agreements for higher pay.

From a business perspective, though, providing the RLW can have a return on investment over time. Employees who do not struggle to feed their families, cover their heating costs, or pay their essential bills, are able to actually dedicate themselves to their work. These employees have increased job security, which in turn reduces the turnover of staff. A reduced turnover means that organisations will require less resources for specialist training of new staff. Training can be a lengthy and costly investment, especially for the security sector, where strong measures are paramount.

The RLW can help embed employee’s needs into the fabric of organisations. This can lead to more favourable financial outcomes and of course profitability in the long-run, but more importantly, can ensure that some of the hardest workers in this country are paid a wage reflective of their efforts.

No one in full time works deserves to struggle to meet their basic needs. That is why the RLW is so vitally important in our strained economic crisis. It is not an easy promise, but is a necessary one that makes our industry fairer.

To read more about our history providing the Living Wage, read here.

December 1, 2023/by Corps Security

Corps Security Press Releases

Corps Security Wins Two Year Contract With Centrepoint

Image Credit: Centrepoint

Corps Security has secured a two-year contract with Centrepoint, the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity.

The contract, which commences on 30 November 2023, will see the security expert provide night concierge security and security guarding services to seven locations in London. While there is a strong emphasis on front of house security and safeguarding, the Corps Security team will do more than keep people and properties safe and secure – the 14 officers that are due to TUPE over from the incumbent will be the friendly face of the charity, offering a warm welcome to those who arrive at the supported accommodation. Following enhanced DBS checks, each officer will receive the latest safeguarding training to comply with updated regulations.

Centrepoint’s mission is to help the young people through support with mental and physical health, life skills and accessing education and employment, Centrepoint’s work is about empowering vulnerable young people. The charity’s ethos feeds into the security guard provider’s mission to protect the communities it serves.

Both parties are passionate advocates for the Living Wage Foundation, and the London Living Wage will be implemented into the contract at the new rate announced in October 2023.

These shared values underpinned Centrepoint’s decision to award the security contract to the social enterprise with a 160-year history of delivering social value. Another reason is Corps’ commitment to driving stigma change when it comes to mental health in security.

“We feel privileged to be working with Centrepoint,” said Mike Bullock, CEO at Corps Security. “This is an exciting win for us because we love working with charities, and this particular contract covers a large area of the city and will allow us to demonstrate our resilience. As a security partner that is focussed on delivering not just expertise but social value, we will do whatever we can to give back to this vulnerable community. We are already discussing ways we can collaborate outside of the contract, such as supporting the charity with job fairs and mentoring. For us, it goes beyond safeguarding and security excellence. It’s about protecting and improving lives.”

Ed Tytherleigh, Centrepoint’s Director of Services, added: “We awarded the contract to Corps Security because they share our values and want to improve the lives of vulnerable people. Corps’ personal touch during the tender process was fantastic – they were responsive, attentive, and proactive throughout. We’re looking forward to this next chapter and to working with a ‘people first’ security expert.”

To find out about the history of the UK longest service private security company, please browse our website.

November 21, 2023/by Corps Security

Corps Security Press Releases

Corps Security – Leading The Way Through New Social Enterprise Status

After 162 years of dedication to their social purpose, built on a desire to help war veterans into gainful employment, Corps Security are now celebrating their recently awarded Social Enterprise status.

Since their inception in 1859 they have followed, what we now term, the triple bottom line ethos of ‘people, planet, purpose’.That’s over a century and a half of social value.

Achieving Social Enterprise status acknowledges the good work that Corps was founded on and sets them apart from their competitors in the security sector.

Mike Bullock, CEO of Corps Security says, “We were already special in the industry. Being awarded Social Enterprise status will not change the running of our business, it simply gives official recognition to the social mission that we were founded on – it nails our colours to the mast.”

Gaining Social Enterprise Status

Social Enterprise UK is the leading global authority on social enterprise and the biggest network of social enterprises in the UK. They are a strategic partner to government departments and have led public policy on social enterprise for 15 years.

To become a certified social enterprise businesses must satisfy a number of key criteria, which importantly includes proving how profits are distributed and invested as well as company ownership status and evidence of a social mission.

Corps Security does this and more…

As well as ticking every box on the Social Enterprise criteria list, Corps Security can add a few of their own unique social achievements.

Corps Security are already a Living Wage Foundation recognised service provider. Introduced in 2019, they now pay 56% of colleagues a Real Living Wage. They also advocate for their customers to pay a Real Living Wage too.

Add to this their Gold Status Employer Recognition Scheme award and internal initiative, Corps Together (a programme promoting diversity), and you can see how committed Corps are to their people.

Corps are also a Carbon Neutral company, certified by Carbon Footprint in early 2020, after funding projects across the world and offsetting 477 tons of avoidable carbon.

A hard act to follow in the security sector

Social Enterprise status is not something other security companies can easily achieve. Corps has a unique constitution, operating as a Trust. There are no shareholders to pay dividends to and their profits are either reinvested or are donated to selected charity partners.

Combat Stress is their preferred charity and having Social Enterprise status means Corps can secure regular funding for them, to help pay for research, clinicians and counsellors to support ex-military personnel with their journey into civilian life and any mental health care they may so desperately need.

Mark Rogers, Sales and Marketing Director comments, “Social Enterprise status brings many benefits. For our business it guarantees that our social mission remains at the very heart of all we do and ensures we continue to operate in an ethical, transparent and accountable way. It also means our customers can increase their own environmental, social and governance credentials by choosing to work with us. My hope is that together we can achieve great things for our people and our planet whilst supporting our purpose.”

Further information out about Corps Social Enterprise status is available via this link.

August 24, 2021/by Corps Security

Corps Security Blog

Corps Security Marks Living Wage Week

Today marks the start of Living Wage Week (9-15th November 2020), the annual celebration of the Living Wage movement. Over the next seven days organisations across the country will take part in online events organised by the Living Wage Foundation to recognise the key role the Living Wage plays in improving people’s lives and boosting productivity within business. At the same time, the Living Wage Foundation will today announce the new Living Wage rates across the UK, which employers have up to six months to introduce.

As a Living Wage employer, Corps firmly believes in paying its people the Living Wage. We are committed to pay all our office staff the Living Wage and to always offer a Living Wage bid alongside every market rate submitted to prospective and current clients. This means the client always has the choice to implement the Living Wage at the point of tender and there is a pathway towards the Living Wage for the provider in place.

Our CEO Mike Bullock also takes a leading role in championing the Living Wage in his role in the Living Wage Foundation’s Recognised Service Provider Leadership Group. The Leadership Group was set up to influence the FM marketplace around the Living Wage Recognition Programme for service providers, advise on overall strategy relating to the Living Wage and service provider recognition and its promotion in the facilities management and outsourcing sectors.

“As an organisation which was set up more than 160 years ago to provide employment for service men returning from the Crimean War, we are committed to always providing the highest standard of pay and support to our people,” says Mike Bullock. “Being a Living Wage employer is incredibly important to us and I am passionate about raising the standard of pay within the security sector. I am delighted to support Living Wage Week and am very much looking forward to attending a number of online events over the next week. Our security officers have served on the front line during this pandemic and they deserve the best rates of pay.”

November 9, 2020/by Corps Security

Posts

Living Wage Week 2025: The Difference It Makes

What the difference means

Advocating for change

Find out more

The Real Living Wage: From Surviving To Thriving

Real Living Wage: What It Means

Corps Security Marks Living Wage Week

Our Social Values

We protect more than you think

Accreditations

About Corps Security

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