Promoting payment of the Real Living Wage through procurement
Today, as part of our Living Wage Week blog series, we turn our attention to work taking place at The City of Edinburgh Council.
The City of Edinburgh Council are working to harness public sector spending to encourage and grow payment of the Real Living Wage.
The Council currently spends over £1billion per year with contractors, suppliers and third sector partners to deliver essential goods, works and services across the city. This investment represents significant influence and spending power, and the Council is committed to using this to deliver more than just contracts, but support Edinburgh to be a fair and sustainable city, and address challenges such as poverty and inequality.
Through Council procurement activity, we are embedding Fair Work principles, a Scottish Government policy designed to encourage employers to commit to fair pay, workforce development and secure employment. Locally, these principles are applied to each tender process to ensure that our suppliers reflect our values of fairness and equality.
In January 2023 the Council strengthened this commitment by introducing a requirement for suppliers delivering Council contracts to pay at least the Real Living Wage. This approach has seen great success, in 2025, 93% of suppliers contracted paid the Real Living Wage and 36% were accredited Living Wage employers.
The Council is continuing to build on this success and is now working on growing awareness among suppliers of the benefits of accreditation with the Living Wage Foundation. This supports the ongoing work of the Edinburgh Fair Work Action Group which brings partners together to reduce in-work poverty, grow Real Living Wage accreditation, and make sure that Edinburgh is a fair work city for all.