Non-profit becomes a certified Living Wage Employer

The Victoria Brain Injury Society has committed to pay their staff and contracted workers a living wage by certifying as Living Wage Employer.

The living wage is the hourly amount a family needs to cover basic expenses. The calculation is based on a two-parent family with two children – the most common family unit in BC – with each parent working full-time. The Living Wage for Greater Victoria is $20.46 an hour.

“At the Victoria Brain Injury Society we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to survive and thrive and low wages should not be a barrier to achieving that. The important work we do could not be possible without our hardworking and dedicated team. Staff wellbeing and morale is at the heart of all we do, so we want to pay everyone a wage they can live on.” Pam Prewett, Executive Director of the Victoria Brain Injury Society

The Victoria Brain Injury Society’s mission is to support, educate, and advocate for adults with acquired brain injuries and their families; and to increase community awareness about acquired brain injuries.

Most children growing up in poverty in BC live with at least one adult working full-time, full-year. In other words, child poverty in BC is very much a low-wage story. For most of the past decade, BC’s child-poverty rate has remained at one in five children living in poverty.

“We’re delighted that Victoria Brain Injury Society has become a Living Wage Employer. We hope it encourages other employers to join the Living Wage movement. Paying a living wage is the smart thing to do – it is good for workers, employers and the local community” said Anastasia French, Living Wage for Families BC

Over the past two years, the number of Living Wage Employers in BC has more than doubled – there are now nearly 400 Living Wage Employers in BC.

Employers have found paying a living wage to be a key tool in their post-Covid economic recovery. 97% of Living Wage Employers in BC have found some benefit to being part of the program.

Certifying as a Living Wage Employer is a voluntary commitment employers make to invest in their communities and local economies.