18 months ago, Union Council and students worked together on an idea – to pay all student staff the national living wage, instead of the national minimum.

The average student spends £735 a month on living costs, meaning that in order to break even they would have to work just over 28 hours a week on top of their studies.

This feat is impossible for many students to achieve without letting University grades, mental health, and social lives suffer.

As a Union we are always focused on making student life better, and on top of providing great job opportunities for a huge number of student staff within our union we will now be paying the National Living Wage of £7.85 an hour to all, putting money straight back into our students’ pockets.

Matt Mills, CEO of the Union had this to say: "The Students' Union aims to make student life better and we do this by prioritisng the employment of student staff wherever we can. I'm delighted that from september we'll be rewarding and recognising the contribution of our student and permanent staff team with a £7.85 living wage."

We employ student staff members in a number of varied roles from working in the shop to graphic design, events, social media and beyond, and we value the outstanding contributions they give to our organisation on a regular basis.

"This is a great step forward for the union," said Mike McGougan, President of the Union. "We are really excited to be able to pay our student staff the living wage and it has been a long time coming. This was something that came on our agenda last year - it was put forward by union council and it this year we have the funding to carry it out.

"There are many reasons we're so proud to offer the Living Wage. One; our students are paid better, two; it is really comforting to know our union council care and listen to what students want, and finally we can pay the same wage as the university does.

"I'm always happy to put extra pounds in student pockets and with us growing our student staff year on year, this is only a good thing! At the end of the day this is YOUR union, we are here to listen and act upon student needs and this was a perfect example of positive change through our democratic structures."

When asked about the impact of the new living wage on her student life, SU Freshers’ Festival Intern Sian Clifford had this to say:

“The Living wage allows me to feel comfortable with the fact that I can provide for myself whilst at University as well as living in halls.

“Being a student living in halls I need to budget myself for food, transport etc. and now I know that the Living wage will cover this for me. As well as helping me personally it also means that my pride and motivation in my work is greater.”

Last year we paid student staff a total of £82,905, and we look forward to funding even more staff members in the coming years and giving them better peace of mind for their efforts with us!