According to a new BBC Sport report, eight of the 20 Premier League football clubs cannot confirm that all of their staff are receiving the real living wage.
The employees in question include all workers, including subcontracted staff, caterers, stewards and cleaners.
According to the BBC, Premier League Clubs spent a whopping £1.9bn on players over the summer alone.
What is the real living wage?
The Living Wage Foundation sets the minimum hourly rates that employees should be working for.
The rates are independently calculated, and depend on how much people need to live on.
As a result of the current cost-of-living crisis, it was recently raised earlier than usual. The aim was to provide greater financial support to workers who are currently struggling.
The Living Wage Foundation has said that the living wage will go up by £1 to £10.90 across the United Kingdom. And, in London, it will go up to £11.95.
A staggering 390,000 workers are expected to benefit from these increases.
Which clubs are in question?
Currently, Manchester United, Southampton and Arsenal do not pay the living wage to all of their staff.
Whilst Bournemouth pays the real living wage to permanent staff, they have failed to audit their third-party contractors.
Also, Tottenham has not confirmed if they pay the same rate to third-party suppliers as their permanent staff.
The same goes for Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.
Which clubs do pay their staff fairly?
There are numerous clubs which are Living Wage Foundation-accredited employers. These clubs include Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Brighton, West Ham and Crystal Palace.
These clubs pay the living wage to all staff.
The real living wage: what should employers be doing?
Living Wage Foundation director Katherine Chapman told BBC Sport: “It’s great clubs are paying the real living wage but we would love to see more and it would be great to see more clubs accredited because that is a signal of long-term commitment.
The cost-of-living crisis is in full swing, with inflation still soaring. In order to provide sufficient financial support to employees, employers across the nation should be adhering to the standard set by the living wage.
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.