St Nicks, also known as Friends of St Nicholas Fields has been accredited as a Living Wage Employer.

Their Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at St Nicks receive a minimum hourly wage of £12, significantly higher than the government minimum for over 21s, which currently stands at £11.44 per hour. 

 St Nicks, based in York is a charity working to promote sustainable lifestyle choices, increase the diversity of and link together green spaces and encourage nature connectedness. Yorkshire and the Humber, is the UK region with the highest proportion of non-Living Wage jobs in the country (14.4%), with over 314,000 jobs paying less than the real Living Wage. Despite this, St Nicks has committed to pay the real Living Wage and deliver a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.

The real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to the costs of living. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their staff earn a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum. Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 460,000 people and put £3 billion extra into the pockets of low paid workers. 

Ellie Stead, CEO of St Nicks said: “We are thrilled to be able to commit to paying the Real Living Wage to all members of our team. As a charity, our work is primarily paid for via direct application to funders for grants and through ongoing dialogue with our key strategic partners. This accreditation shows the value of the work our teams are doing across York and recognition by our funding partners that what we pay truly matters. It's a wonderful step forward to be able recognise the positive impacts our team make in this very meaningful and visible way.”

Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation said: “We’re delighted that St Nicks has joined the movement of over 14,000 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.

 “They join thousands of small businesses, as well as household names such as Burberry, Barclays, Everton Football Club and many more. These businesses recognise that paying the real Living Wage is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like St Nicks, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay."

About St Nicks

St Nicks is the “Green Heart of York”, a 24 acre urban nature reserve built on a previous landfill site. The Environment Centre and activities promote all aspects of sustainable living. As well as managing the natural habitats for over 2,000 species, St Nick’s educate the public, volunteers and young people on the practicalities of environmental, conservation issues and sustainability including recycling and waste reduction. St Nicks also provides nature-connectedness programmes to improve mental health and wellbeing.