Celebrating Living Wage Week: Why the Living Wage and Accessibility Go Hand in Hand

Last month we were really proud to share that Nexer Digital are now officially an accredited Living Wage Employer. This Living Wage Week (10-16 November), we’ve been reflecting on what that means for us as a human-centred organisation and as a leading voice in the world of accessibility, as well as what more we could be doing.

Why we got accredited as a Living Wage Employer

Gaining the Living Wage accreditation was a straightforward process. As an employer in the tech industry, we knew that our pay structures and banding already sat above the Living Wage. We also knew that most of our team wouldn’t be directly impacted by the decision to go through the process. So what was it that prompted us to do it?

Firstly, to hold ourselves to account. By taking a deep dive into our pay structures and thinking about different scenarios, types of employment, and our third party contractors, we were able to hold up a mirror to ourselves and ask what was missing. The process allowed us to look in detail at our apprenticeship and junior talent structure, for example, as well as asking the right questions around progression and pay.

Secondly, to demonstrate our commitment to being a fair and inclusive employer. The difference between saying we believe in fair pay, and demonstrating that we do with a nationally recognised accreditation is a powerful one. And as we noticed the question coming up more and more from our clients and partners, it seemed to be a no-brainer!

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, to show our team that this matters. Not only paying a fair Living Wage to all our team, but that we believe it is the right thing to do. Our values are more than just words on a page, it’s how we do things and who we are.

What’s this got to do with accessibility?

The theme for Living Wage Week 2025 is ‘the difference it makes’. We know that life on low pay can have a devastating impact on all aspects of someone’s life. We also know that low pay disproportionality affects disabled workers. When you then consider the fact that life costs more when you’re disabled and that the disability pay gap sits at 15.5%, it is hard to argue that true accessibility doesn’t include fair pay and fair wages.

At Nexer Digital one in five of our team identify as disabled, and a third as neurodiverse. Creating an accessible and inclusive workplace isn’t just a vague statement, it’s something that our team care deeply about. While we know we always have more to do, demonstrating our values through actions such as the Living Wage accreditation really helps us live those values every day. We are also a Disability Confident Employer, which further sharpens our focus on building an inclusive workplace.

We work with some wonderful organisations to help them overcome accessibility barriers and to focus on good digital products and services that help people live and work better. By adding our voice to the 16,000+ UK employers who pay a Living Wage, we hope to spread the message of inclusion and impact even further.

What’s next for us at Nexer Digital?

The Living Wage Employer accreditation is just one step in our ongoing journey as an inclusive and human-centred employer.

• We’re currently exploring the Living Pension Employer accreditation, to build on the success of the Living Wage
• We’re in the process of becoming a Fair Payment Code employer, to demonstrate our commitment to paying all our suppliers and partners fairly and quickly, as well as our employees
• We’ll continue our partnership with DISC, supporting their work in opening up opportunities in the digital economy for young people with additional needs.
• We’ll continue to expand our work on inclusion and accessibility in the Nordic region
• We hope to achieve the top tier of the Disability Confident scheme before the end of 2025

Alongside this, we’re currently running a Culture Survey with all of our team to delve into what they really think about our culture; who we are and how we do things. We’ve been working with the wonderful team at Honey Badger to map out questions around power dynamics, representation, development, equality and opportunity, which we hope will help inform us on where we need to focus next. Look out for some reflections on the survey and the process of developing it in early 2026!

If you’d like to chat about anything in the post, including support around going for these accreditations or exploring ways to demonstrate your commitment to being an inclusive employer, I’d love to chat. Drop me a message at jen.kelly@nexergroup.com, any time.