MORE than 108,000 workers across the Liverpool City Region are now reaping the benefits of Mayor Steve Rotheram’s campaign to tackle insecure work, zero-hours contracts, and poverty pay. 

Launched in 2021, the region’s Fair Employment Charter champions businesses that pay and treat staff well - offering fair wages, secure jobs, and a supportive workplace. Backed by trade unions, the initiative has already outstripped its original targets, with 160 employers signed up and around 16% of the City region’s workforce now covered. 

Of those, 149 employers are operating at the Aspiring level, while 11 have reached full Accredited status. These organisations include Liverpool John Moores University, the charity Career Connect, and local software and IT firms Jamescape and Harker. All were recognised this week at a special event hosted at Mann Island. 

Since its launch, the Charter has had a real impact on working lives across the region. Employers have moved staff onto the Real Living Wage, promoted trade union representation, introduced apprenticeships and graduate schemes, and adopted ACAS standards in staff training and performance management. 

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:- “I’ve always believed that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. No one should be stuck in a job that doesn’t pay the bills or lets you down when you need security most. Our Fair Employment Charter is helping to turn that belief into reality - lifting pay, improving conditions, and creating real opportunities for people across our region. We’re not interested in box-ticking or gimmicks. This is about backing the good employers, helping others raise their game, and making our region a fairer, better place to live and work. If you’re an employer who shares those values, I’d encourage you to sign up and be part of the movement for better work in our region.” 

James Barber, CEO and co-founder of Jamescape and Harker, a software company which is developing an app to help charities support homeless people, said:- “We are incredibly proud to be an Accredited employer, leading the way by making sure that we do everything right by our employees and ensuring that we create a workplace which is truly fair, just inclusive and healthy so that our people perform best and all of our staff love coming to work every day and have a great time doing their jobs.” 

The 3 levels of the Fair Employment Charter are Aspiring, Accredited and  Ambassador. Aspiring focuses on the policies and procedures which organisations have in place to demonstrate good and fair work practices. 

Accredited status requires employers to demonstrate through a series of case studies the positive impact their processes, procedures and mechanisms have had on employees, customers, the organisation and the wider community. 

To achieve the final Ambassador level, Accredited employers must choose just 1 of the 4 pillars of the Charter (Healthy, Fair, Inclusive and Just) and showcase why they are an exemplar in this area. This could include parental leave, sick leave, family-friendly policies and providing opportunities for older people. 

The Charter currently covers 108,920 workers out of the City region’s 642,500-strong workforce.

Organisations interested in joining can find out more here.