Unilever : signs up to Living Wage Foundation

Tim Munden, HR Director, Unilever UK said: 'As a company committed to making sustainable living commonplace we believe it is right to raise the floor on wages. That is why we have been committed to paying our UK employees at least a living wage for some time. We are therefore delighted to take this next natural step in gaining accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation; it underlines our commitment to a living wage approach across our supply chain and it will ensure that hundreds more people working with us will be paid the Living Wage by the end of next year.'

In becoming accredited, Unilever UK will continue to work with key suppliers to encourage a Living Wage approach and ensure that regular contractors on our sites move to paying a Living Wage through the next 18 months. A small number of employees as a result of acquisitions, will also benefit immediately from this announcement.

Sarah Vero, director, Living Wage Foundation said: 'We are delighted that Unilever is now an accredited Living Wage employer. It is a huge milestone to have one of the UK's most successful and much-loved organisations join the Living Wage movement. Their accreditation means that virtually every home across the UK will now have in its cupboards and on the kitchen table, a product made by a Living Wage business.

'Their accreditation means that more than a quarter of the FTSE 100 are now part of the Living Wage movement. They join 2,000 other responsible businesses that voluntarily pay the Living Wage rate that is based on the real cost of living in the UK. Increasingly consumers are recognising the mark, with over 85% of people reporting businesses that can, should pay the rate. We hope that many more businesses will follow their lead.'

Tim Munden adds: 'It is in our DNA to be a responsible company. Our accreditation today to the Living Wage Foundation goes hand in hand with our award-winning wellbeing, family-friendly and agile working programmes.'

Around five hundred people will see a direct benefit from this move. Unilever employs a total of around 7,500 in the UK.

-Ends-

For more information please contact: Adam Fisher, UK & Ireland Media Relations Manager
T: 02 07822 5082
E: Adam.Fisher@unilever.com

Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers a day. It has 172,000 employees and generated sales of €48.4 billion in 2014. Over half (57%) of the company's footprint is in developing and emerging markets. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including Persil, Dove, Knorr, Domestos, Hellmann's, Lipton, Wall's, PG Tips, Ben & Jerry's, Marmite, Magnum and Lynx.

Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) commits to:

• Decoupling growth from environmental impact.

• Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being.

• Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.

Unilever was ranked number one in its sector in the 2015 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In the FTSE4Good Index, it achieved the highest environmental score of 5. It led the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the 2015 GlobeScan/SustainAbility annual survey for the fifth year running, and in 2015 was ranked the most sustainable food and beverage company in Oxfam's Behind the Brands Scorecard.

Unilever has been named in LinkedIn's Top 3 most sought-after employers across all sectors.

For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com(Link opens in a new window). For more information on the USLP: www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/(Link opens in a new window)