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Dominic Ponniah, CEO and Co-Founder of commercial cleaning firm, Cleanology, has been elected Co-Chair of the Living Wage Foundation’s Recognised Service Provider Leadership Group.
The Recognised Service Provider accreditation was set up by the Living Wage Foundation to commend contractors who support the aims of the movement. For many sectors, implementing the Real Living Wage relies on responsible procurement, and the movement has been successful thanks to the constructive involvement of both Living Wage Employers from a client side and advocates in the contracted service provider industries.
Recognised Service Providers have seen the benefits the Real Living Wage can bring and aim to champion the Real Living Wage in their contracts with customers. They have committed to always offering a Real Living Wage bid in place of or alongside every market rate submittal to all prospective and current clients, meaning the client always has the choice to implement the Real Living Wage at the point of tender. The Recognised Service Provider Leadership Group exists to assist and guide the Living Wage Foundation with policy decisions and lends its expertise to the Foundation to better champion the Real Living Wage within the provider industries.
In 2018, Cleanology commissioned independent research into people’s attitudes towards fair pay and the Real Living Wage, and in 2021, the company won a Living Wage Champion Award in recognition of its work supporting the Real Living Wage. Throughout 2022 and 2023, 100 per cent of new business won by Cleanology was signed up paying the Real Living Wage or higher.
In May 2023, Cleanology announced it had created 600 new jobs during a period of record-breaking growth which included an acquisition in Wigan, Greater Manchester. This added a further 400 staff to the books, bringing the total workforce to over 1,400.
Speaking about his appointment, Ponniah said: “As a long-term supporter of the Real Living Wage, I am absolutely thrilled to have been elected as Co-Chair of the Recognised Service Provider Leadership Group. This dedicated group of business leaders are champions of fair pay and understand well the commercial benefits for organisations who pay the Real Living Wage. We want to support other businesses in any way we can on their journey to adopting the Real Living Wage so they too can realise the mutual benefits.
“I very much look forward to working with my Co-Chair Phil Smith and the rest of the group to continue to expand the Recognised Service Provider network.”
Fin Watkinson, Partnerships & Campaigns Manager at the Living Wage Foundation, commented: “We are delighted that Dominic has agreed to take on the role of co-chair of the Recognised Service Provider Leadership Group.
“The Leadership Group has provided us with brilliant expertise and insight for many years, and we are extremely grateful for the continued support of all the members. Dominic and Cleanology have been a fantastic addition to the group over the last two years, and it is a show of Dominic’s commitment to the group and to advocating for the real Living Wage that he has agreed to take this on, succeeding Mike Bullock of Corps Security who has co-chaired excellently since 2022.”
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