Brodie Turner and Ruth Hitchings from Lambeth Council and Elle Moss from Drew + Rose explain what 'good work' means to them and what can be done to support it at a local level.
About Lambeth
Lambeth is one of 32 London borough councils situated in south London and has one of the largest geographic areas of any inner London borough. Lambeth has a population of 321,800 and is home to almost 14,000 enterprises. Most businesses in the borough are micro (91 per cent) or small (8 per cent) enterprises, operating mainly in the sectors of professional, scientific and technical services, information technology, business operations, arts and entertainment, construction, and hospitality.
Interview with Brodie Turner, Business & Inward Investment Manager and Ruth Hitchings, Principal Employment & Skills Officer, Lambeth Council
What does ‘good work’ mean to you?
It’s about combining tangible things around the wage, hours, flexibility and inclusive workplace practices. Pay and the Real Living Wage is really important to us. Although Lambeth has relatively strong economic growth we also have pockets of disparity, so bridging that gap is another area we focus on. There’s consensus that if you can support people early on, they’re more likely to develop the skills to take them through in the future and access good work.
What can be done to support good work at a local level?
We have recently achieved the London Good Work Standard accreditation, we want to push that across the borough and lead by example. We’re offering talent development through the Elevate programme focused on creative employment for young people and working with Get Set in Brixton to help NEET youth into work. We’ve also established International House, the UK’s first Real Living Wage building which supports our commitment to well-paid jobs. This houses about 150 businesses and over 400 jobs.
What are the main challenges and how can they be overcome?
We want to support businesses to implement the Real Living Wage – but it’s variable in terms of which sectors we’re able to engage. Many businesses may pay it but aren’t necessarily registered. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t practicing good work. There’s a gap between formal commitments and the reality of SMEs just trying to survive. We have to think long-term, not going to businesses asking ‘What are you paying people?’ but asking ourselves how to make good work accessible for employers.
What is your top tip for local government?
Talk to people that share your aims both internally and externally. Build strong partnerships with anchor institutions. Have a real emphasis on a particular element of good work. For example, the Real Living Wage is a priority for us and we embed it across the council’s procurement, strategies and work programmes.
If you can support people early on, they’re more likely to develop the skills to take them through in the future.
Brodie Turner and Ruth Hitchings, Lambeth Council
Interview with Elle Moss, Creative Director, Drew + Rose
What does ‘good work’ mean to you?
My business is a brand and website agency centred on the values of supporting others, being ethically driven and helping the local community thrive. For example, diversity is key to us. Lambeth Council’s International House, where we work from, has a very diverse workforce and has developed physical spaces to ensure diversity and inclusion are upheld, particularly around creating accessible spaces.
What can be done to support good work at a local level?
We work with our community. For example, there’s the Young Creators, a body of young adults (many without further or higher education), that do creative and design work. We commission them for a lot of our design work and pay them agency fees, to ensure we pay fairly. We’re also developing our own apprenticeship programme, Breaking the Spiral, for young people in the borough who don’t have the qualifications to progress.
What are the main challenges and how can they be overcome?
Businesses have a lot of pressure on their time, and the pandemic had a real knock-on effect. We were in survival mode and we need to go back to thriving. But we need resources, capacity and support to do that and not all of us have it. People are scared and quite stuck, it’s fear of the unknown that often blocks employers from doing things differently or new. We need some form of re-education, which comes from collaboration and sharing knowledge.
What is your top tip for local businesses?
Collaboration is so important, sharing that information. Being community focused and localised and paying the Real Living Wage – it’s not going to impact your business negatively, it will improve business culture and sustainability in the long-term.
It’s fear of the unknown that often blocks employers from doing things differently or new.
Elle Moss, Creative Director, Drew + Rose
About the Good Work Project
You can read more about the Good Work project – which aims to help councils support good work in the local areas – via the link below.