Northamptonshire-based Fill Refill awarded Retail and Hospitality Champion Award

At the Living Wage Champion Awards, Fill Refillwas recognised for its exceptional leadership in advancing the real Living Wage within the retail sector. Fill Refill’s work in championing the Living Wage exemplifies the values and history of our movement by strengthening the links between employer and community, and we hope to see many others follow in their footsteps.

Fill Refill is an independent family run business in Northamptonshire that specialises in closed-loop & circular returnable eco responsible laundry, household cleaning and personal care products.

Their original goal was to create products that are eco-responsible whilst finding ways to eliminate plastic waste. They are so much more than that now. They are members of 1% for the Planet, donating 1% of their turnover to environmental causes. They are also a certified B corporation - meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability, and they extremely proud to be an accredited Living Wage Employer. This means that every member of the Fill Refill team earns a real Living Wage. Importantly, the hourly rate of pay is independently calculated, and it’s based on the actual cost of living.

Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation, said: "Given the challenges of the past three years, the record increase in Living Wage Employers is truly remarkable. The Living Wage movement has never been stronger, and in the current cost of living crisis, it has never mattered more. Nearly 13,000 Living Wage Employers have recognised this and signed up to ensure that everyone who works for them, including third party contractors like cleaners and security guards, earns a wage that meets everyday needs. Tonight, we are celebrating the outstanding leadership these employers have shown in providing stability and security in their industries, communities, and wider society. They are leading the way in building a better and more equal world, and I warmly congratulate Fill Refill on their well-deserved award."

Phillip Kalli, Managing Director, Fill Refill, said:

“This means a whole lot to us. Committing to the real living wage in 2020, right in the middle of so much uncertainty for so many of us, is one of the changes we made that I am most proud of. We like to say that nothing changes if nothing changes. We think it’s vital that we pay every person in our team the real living wage for what they do & we’d like to encourage more folks to do the same because we know it’s the right thing to do. We’re grateful to The Living Wage Foundation for the recognition & for everything they are doing to make for a fairer workplace for everyone!”

The annual Living Wage Champion Awards celebrate individuals and organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to the Living Wage movement. This year they were held in Manchester for the first time ever in recognition of the strength and growth of the movement in the region. The awards were supported by gold sponsors Aviva and Everton F.C., and silver sponsors Autotrader and Anchor Removals. The Retail and Hospitality Champion award was sponsored by Dunsters Farm.