The Joseph Centre for Dignified Work

For a City which works for everyone, built on opportunity and fairness.

Our Work

The City of London is a key part of the UK economy, providing more than half a million jobs and generating billions in economic output each year. Yet the City's success relies on tens of thousands of 'hidden workers': the cleaners, security guards, hospitality workers, couriers, construction workers and many others who underpin its prosperity. Too many of these workers do not enjoy fair pay or dignified working conditions, and a growing number live in poverty and hardship.

The Joseph Centre for Dignified Work exists to change this. We reweave relationships of trust, recognition and dialogue between worker, business, and civic communities because we believe dignified working conditions and business success are not in tension, but mutually reinforcing. Our vision is a City that works for everyone, securing the common good for all.

The Centre grows out of the work of the Guild Church for Workers at St Katharine Cree (SKC), which has re-engaged the hidden workers who underpin the City's prosperity. Through hundreds of face-to-face conversations, SKC has been building community among workers of all faiths and none, listening to their needs and hopes, and responding practically. The Joseph Centre translates that grassroots experience into broader action by connecting it with people across the City's finance, law and professional services who share the conviction, rooted in our faith, that every worker possesses inherent dignity and deserves to be treated accordingly.

Together, we are renewing the social and civic fabric of the City of London.

Learn More

News

Remembering Those Who Never Came Home: International Workers’ Memorial Day

Today, on International Workers’ Memorial Day, we pause to honour those who have lost their lives at work and to renew our commitment that no worker should pay for their job with their life. The symbol of International Workers’ Memorial Day is a pair of empty work boots The history of workplace safety is a history of campaigners refusing to accept that suffering is simply the cost of labour. In the 1830s and 40s, Lord Shaftesbury campaigned tirelessly to limit the brutal hour

Apr 28

Doing Business Differently: Celebrating Clean for Good and Just Helpers

We have wonderful news to share. Two social enterprises the Joseph Centre holds in high regard — Clean for Good and Just Helpers Cleaning Agency — have both been shortlisted for Living Wage Champion Awards 2026 . We couldn’t be more delighted, and we want to take a moment to celebrate why this matters. Both are cleaning companies. Both operate in one of the UK’s most challenging sectors — low-margin, low-wage, and historically resistant to change. And both were founded by pe

Apr 16

Welcome pay boost for low-paid workers

By the Joseph Centre for Dignified Work In welcome news for low-paid workers across the UK, the independent Living Wage Foundation (LWF) has announced new pay rates that reflect rising living costs and the need for greater employment dignity. From today the “real” living wage rises to £13.45 per hour across the UK (an increase of £0.85, or roughly 6.7 %) and to £14.80 per hour in London (an increase of £0.95, or roughly 6.9 %). The raise will benefit nearly half a million

Oct 22, 2025