Criteria for awarding NNDR discretionary relief to businesses accredited with Living Wage Foundation
The scheme may apply to any hereditament (other than one to which Section 47(8A) or Section 47(10) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 applies) occupied by an employer within Ealing Council's area and are liable for the payment of Business Rates.
To be eligible for relief, the ratepayer must be an organisation which is accredited with the Living Wage Foundation (LWF) during the year 2022/2023, that is, has a signed accreditation licence agreement with the LWF. Confirmation of accreditation with the LWF will be conclusive proof. A business must become accredited by 31 March 2023. If the accreditation licence is for a phased implementation, entitlement is confirmed when the licence is signed.
Awards will be paid to the first 100 qualifying businesses based on date that the businesses application is received.
The LWF monitors organisations and should any business break the agreement within two years of signing it then any discount awarded will be re-claimed.
The maximum available relief for 2022/2023 will be equivalent to two times the accreditation cost quoted by the LWF to be paid during the year 2022/2023, either as initial accreditation, or for renewal. [Note: Ealing Council is not responsible for calculating the cost of accreditation, as that is fixed by the LWF. It is likely to vary based on the number of employees and whether the organisation is a private or public body.]
The maximum annual relief will be converted to a daily amount in accordance with the following formula: annual award (up to twice the accreditation cost) divided by the number of days in financial year.
Where the organisation occupies more than one property in Ealing, only one award will be made, the organisation can elect which account the discount should be applied to.
Entitlement to the discount is subject to the United Kingdom’s Subsidy Control Obligations. A business must notify Ealing Council when not complying with the domestic and international subsidy control obligations. Government guidance online: Guidance on the UK’s international subsidy control commitments - GOV.UK .
If a qualifying business moves out of the council's area within two years of becoming accredited the discount will be re-claimed. However if the ratepayer moves within the area the discount will remain.
National/multi-national companies - these will be entitled to apply if they are accredited with the LWF, however if they are liable for more than one property in the council's area they will only be entitled to one discount.
The relief granted in accordance with this policy may be granted in addition to other relief and may be such that the liability is reduced to zero.