APPLICABILITY
The living wage requirement applies to all employees, including part-time and temporary employees, as well as to contract workers, and interns (interns who are high school students conducting job shadowing only may be excluded from the Living Wage calculation).
LIVING WAGE DEFINITION
Within Just 2.0, living wage is defined as financial compensation that reflects what individuals need to support themselves and their families above the poverty line, based on the actual costs of living in any specific community.
Organizations where employees are associated with physical office locations should use the respective office as the location for calculating the applicable living wage.
Organizations with an all-remote workforce or those that have remote workers not associated with physical office locations should calculate the applicable living wage based on each employee’s respective location.
LIVING WAGE FRAMEWORKS
Operations within the United States
For operations within the US, the living wage is the result from the MIT Living Wage Calculator using settings defined for the targeted level or $15/hour, whichever is higher.
Operations outside the United States
For achievement Levels 2 through 4, organizations not based in the United States must seek a living wage framework that is widely recognized and regularly updated by a non-governmental organization (NGO) or educational institution. If such a framework does not exist for the location, then the living wage paid by the organization is based on a multiple of the national minimum wage as indicated in the metrics for the targeted achievement level.
The following frameworks are approved for the covered locations:
Global Living Wage Coalition’s living wage benchmarks
Living Wage Canada
Living Wage Foundation – UK
Living Wage Ireland
Living Wage Aotearoa/New Zealand
WageIndicator Foundation’s Living Wage Database
NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE
National minimum wage benchmarks are usually set at or below a poverty-level standard of living. Where living wage frameworks do not exist, the Just program asks organizations to provide a living wage for their entry-level employees that is higher than the minimum wage.
SCOPE OF EMPLOYEES
Indicator metrics apply to all of the following groups:
- Employees (see definition in the General Clarifications)
- Contract workers
- Interns
SUBSIDIZED HOUSING
Subsidized housing for employees can count towards the Living Wage Indicator. For specifics on how to factor in the contribution of subsidized housing, please see the Calculations section for this Indicator.
WAGE COMPOSITION
The lowest wage offered is derived from base salary only. With the exception of subsidized housing as indicated in these clarifications, organizations may not count bonuses, the cost of benefits such as transportation stipends or employer contributions to health care insurance premiums, or other types of compensation when calculating the lowest wage offered.
