About Us
Why a Centre for Dignified Work in the City?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Together, we are renewing the social and civic fabric of the City of London.
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What does the Centre work on?
We work through research, discussion, and partnership. Our concerns include fair pay and the Living Wage, social mobility, modern slavery and exploitation, and the structural conditions that shape workers' lives including the financial systems that too often conceal harm.
Our first major report, A Theology of Financial Transparency, makes the case that opacity in financial systems is not a technical problem but a matter of justice, and that the church has both the standing and the obligation to say so. Read the report.
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Who runs the Centre?
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The Centre's Director is Josh Harris, who also serves as Priest-in-Charge of St Katharine Cree. Prior to his appointment in the City, Josh worked for more than a decade in policy roles in government, parliament and think tanks in Westminster and in community development in east London.
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Who is Joseph?
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We take our Centre's name from St Joseph, the patron saint of Workers, whose work as a carpenter while caring for the infant Jesus has been an inspiration for generations that good work is worthy of the highest dignity.​
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How can I support your work?
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If you would like to financially support our work please get in touch. We are developing corporate partnerships with likeminded organisations and businesses.
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If you'd like to make an individual donation you can do so tax efficiently via St Katharine Cree at https://www.stkatharinecree.org/donate