The union representing the workers argued that the pay changes have forced the lowest paid \u201cto shoulder the burden of financial pressures while others higher up the organisation remain protected\u201d.<\/p>\n Ark Schools managing director Venessa Willms said: \u201cArk has taken the very difficult decision to pause increasing pay in line with the real living wage this year.<\/p>\n \u201cThis decision was not taken lightly and reflects the significant financial pressures facing both Ark and the wider schools sector, particularly in light of falling rolls.\u201d<\/p>\n The trust became an accredited real living wage employer in 2020-21.<\/p>\n All employees and contracted staff were subsequently guaranteed this as a minimum.<\/p>\n The real living wage is different to the national living wage, which is a legal minimum hourly rate all employers must pay workers aged 21 or over.<\/p>\n In April, the real living wage, which is a higher, voluntary rate, rose by 6.7 per cent to \u00a313.45 per hour, from \u00a312.60 the previous financial year. In London, it rose to \u00a314.80.<\/p>\n But instead, Ark Schools, as well as the wider Ark charity, funded only a 3 per cent pay increase for all contracted workers.<\/p>\n Willms stressed that this was the \u201csame increase\u201d given to directly employed central staff and that all employees \u201ccontinue to be paid at or above the government\u2019s national living wage\u201d.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cArk was, for a number of years, one of just a handful of multi-academy trusts to commit to the real living wage, and we continue to prioritise fair and sustainable pay for our staff.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have committed to review our approach as part of next year\u2019s budgeting cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n This week, the United Voices of the World (UVW) is balloting 16 outsourced cleaners at the Ark Globe Academy in London over strike action as the \u201cpartial uplift\u201d takes their earnings to \u00a314.27 per hour.<\/p>\n The union said the company the cleaners work for could not plug the wage gap because of \u201ccontractual arrangements\u201d with Ark.<\/p>\n UVW general secretary Nelly Ospino said the employees \u2013 all of whom are migrants \u2013 \u201care already among the lowest-paid workers in the school\u201d.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cEvery penny matters when you are living from month to month. The lowest-paid workers are effectively being asked to shoulder the burden of financial pressures while others higher up the organisation remain protected.<\/p>\n \u201cOutsourcing continues to create a two-tier workforce where migrant workers are treated as disposable and denied the dignity, security and respect they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n The union also pointed to Ark Schools boss Lucy Heller\u2019s \u00a3216,300 wages last year.\u00a0Her pay rose slightly from \u00a3214,931, an increase of 0.6 per cent.<\/p>\n Accounts show Ark Schools’ reserves stood at \u00a36,281,000 by the end of 2024-25, up from \u00a35,225,000.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Vanessa-Willms-inset-400px-400x400.jpg\")
3% rise<\/h2>\n
‘Review’ promised<\/h2>\n
\u00a0Ark ‘building reserves’<\/h2>\n