Profile becomes Living Wage employer

Andrew Franklin, m.d. of Profile Books, has said it is “shameful” that some publishers do not pay interns even though chief executives are “paying themselves hundreds of thousands of pounds a year”.

Profile has become an accredited Living Wage employer. The publisher said it was the first independent publisher to pay the living wage, which is an hourly rate based on the cost of living in the UK.

The living wage is £8.80 an hour in London, and £7.65 in the rest of the UK, compared to the minimum wage of £6.31.

Franklin said “I hate the fact that there are publishers whose chief executives are paying themselves hundreds of thousands of pounds a year but won’t even pay their interns who they expect to subsist on travel expenses.

“No names, no pack-drill of course, but it is shameful. We are committed to paying everyone, from our cleaners to our interns not only the minimum but a living wage.  It is the right thing to do.  And it makes good business sense.”

Rhys Moore, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said he welcomed “the leadership shown by Profile Books on this important issue”.