BUCKINGHAM Palace has been accused of paying its staff "less than minimum wage" after a job ad posted on the royal household website offered a meagre hourly rate of just £7.97.
The national minimum wage is £9.50 for people aged 23 and over.
Employers are legally allowed to pay below the minimum wage if they provide accommodation. The accommodation charge would then be used to calculate a different minimum wage.
The ad for the job with the royal household states that accommodation is provided, along with free meals - though these do not factor in to the wage.
The royal job ad, which is for “the master of the household’s office” at Buckingham Palace states that the hourly rate is calculated “after the salary adjustment for accommodation”.
The application described the hourly rate as "competitive".
Candidates were told the role could be based at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle.
The job ad states the successful applicant will “upkeep, clean and care for a wide range of interiors and items, ensuring they’re presented to their very best”.
It adds that the employee will “welcome and take care of guests at functions and events too”.
The worker will be "delivering extraordinary service in incredible surroundings" while developing " housekeeping skills and expertise".
It adds that previous housekeeping or hospitality experience would be an advantage.
Unite Hospitality hit out at the job, calling the wage “obscene”. It said it showed how workers, often migrants who are women, are exploited.
A Unite Hospitality spokesperson told The National: "For one of the richest landowners in the country to be paying workers below the minimum wage is obscene.
“This case serves to highlight the rampant exploitation of migrant domestic workers allowed through the lack of legislative protections which allow rich households to abuse and exploit mostly migrant women workers.
“We would encourage Her Majesty to become a living wage employer and to sign up to our Fair Hospitality Charter to ensure Buckingham Palace workers are treated fairly.”
The Queen receives a sovereign grant from the UK Government of around £85 million a year, the equivalent of £1.29 per person in the UK.
Most of this is spent on official duties, including staff wages, and goes to maintaining occupied royal palaces including Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Kensington Palace.
As well as this, the Queen makes a private income from the Queen's Privy Purse, money from a private estate known as the Duchy of Lancaster. This covers 18,000 hectares of land and in the year ending March 2021 made a profit of £21m.
The monarch also makes a private income from Balmoral, which she owns personally.
Commenting, a spokesperson for activist group Republic said: “When it comes to spending money on the royals, no expense is spared. When it comes to spending money on their staff it seems that they will aim for the lowest salaries possible. This is a disgraceful way to treat staff, especially during a cost of living crisis and especially in London where costs are so high.
“The monarchy costs the taxpayer at least £345m a year, the equivalent to 13,000 new police officers or nurses. The Queen herself receives a personal income of more than £20m a year. It is beyond belief that they cannot offer salaries that are generous and well above the living wage.”
Buckingham Palace has been approached for comment.
