By Josh Harris, Director of the Joseph Centre for Dignified Work When we started the Joseph Centre, our work began with conversations. Hundreds of them. Cleaners arriving before dawn to empty bins in towers they would never enter as guests. Security guards working twelve-hour shifts in lobbies designed for people passing through, not for people staying. Hospitality staff serving meals to traders whose lunch cost more than their hourly wage. The launch event of the Voices for Transparency...

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 hours children and...

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 people whose...