Cleaners who work for the Foreign Office have been put on disciplinary action after a letter they went to Foreign Secretary, Phillip Hammond was forwarded to their employer, Interserve.

The letter signed by 14 cleaners requested that their low pay be raised to the living wage which is calculated at £9.15 in London. They then were invited to a formal disciplinary meeting with the letter attached as evidence. Three of the cleaners have since been made redundant and some are considering legal action.

Despite the Government’s living wage of £7.20 coming into force next April many feel this is still not enough to cover the difference in in the cost of living Londoners face. Meanwhile it also worth noting that the new living wage only applies to over 25s which leaves many homeowners/renters under this age short changed.

Last month LIDL became one of the first major retailers to promise that all staff would be paid the living wage and this is much better publicity for the company than the tactic taken by Interscope. Furthermore they are not liable to any legal action so all in all it is a win-win situation.