Ealing Council Wins National Living Wage Award

Named as leading public sector champion of fair pay

Councillor Nagpal and Ealing Council officers accepting the award. Picture: Ealing Council

May 28, 2026

Ealing Council has been named the UK’s leading public-sector champion of the Living Wage, after its borough-wide campaign to boost fair pay earned national recognition at this year’s Living Wage Champion Awards.

At the ceremony on Tuesday 7 July, the council won the Living Wage Leader (Public Sector) award, recognising the scale and impact of its work to encourage employers to adopt the London Living Wage. The accolade marks a milestone in a multi-year effort that has seen Ealing position fair pay as a defining part of its identity, using marketing, business engagement and employee support to embed the Living Wage across the borough.

Across two phases of the council’s campaign, the number of accredited Living Wage employers in Ealing doubled. The borough now hosts more Living Wage employers than any other local authority in west London, and more than any outer London borough. Almost 1,000 employees have received a pay rise because their employer became accredited — a direct, measurable outcome of the council’s strategy.

Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal, cabinet member for decent living incomes, said the award reflected years of determined work. “This award reflects the hard work going on behind the scenes at the council to make sure everyone living and working here can share in the borough’s success,” she said. “We have more Living Wage-accredited employers than any other outer London borough, we were the first west London borough to become a Living Wage Place, and almost 1,000 local workers have had a pay rise. Thank you to the Living Wage Foundation for all its support, and to the businesses in the borough, our action group, and our dedicated officers, who together made this happen.”

Graham Griffiths, director of the Living Wage Foundation, praised Ealing’s contribution to the movement, which began 25 years ago in east London and has grown into one of the most influential civil society campaigns of the 21st century. “These awards are such a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the hard work, dedication, and passion that has gone into growing the Living Wage movement,” he said. “I warmly congratulate Ealing Council on their well-deserved award and thank them for their support for the Living Wage movement.”

The awards ceremony, held in London to mark the movement’s 25th anniversary, celebrated organisations and individuals who have helped transform pay standards across the UK.