Mercato Metropolitano, the first sustainable community food market in London, has been recognised as a Mayor’s Good Work Standard employer having met sufficient criteria in all four pillars of the Mayor’s Good Work Standard to be accredited at Achievement level.
The Mayor’s Good Work Standard aims to improve working lives for Londoners and sets the benchmark for the highest employment standards, recognising employers who are contributing to a fairer and more inclusive London. Mercato Metropolitano joins the 145+ strong community of Good Work Standard employers setting a high bar for good work in the capital.
To celebrate this achievement, London’s Night Czar, Amy Lamé, will be coming to Mercato Metropolitano Elephant & Castle on Wednesday 17 January 2024 to present the Founder and CEO of Mercato Metropolitano, Andrea Rasca, with a Good Work Standard plaque to acknowledge the incredible efforts by Mercato Metropolitano to improve the lives of those working and living in London and keeping the city thriving after dark.
The cost-of-living crisis has made life harder for communities across London, but Mercato Metropolitano has been recognised for its proactive approach to recruiting underrepresented groups reflecting the diversity of London, and providing skills and training to support diverse groups into hospitality jobs, including working with Springboard. The Springboard charity supports unemployed people of all backgrounds gain skills and experience for careers in hospitality, leisure and tourism.
Mercato Metropolitano’s commitment to paying the real Living Wage, and engagement with Living Hours and Living Wage place campaigns, particularly to ensure outsourced security staff and trading partners pay the real Living Wage, has been highly commended. The Mayor announced the new London Living Wage rate of £13.15 in October last year. Mercato Metropolitano has committed to uplifting wages in line with the Living Wage Foundation rate each year. Mercato Metropolitano’s provision of health, safety and wellbeing initiatives and training for managers and wider staff to support their mental wellbeing, particularly important practices for the 1.3 million Londoners who work after 6pm, was also commended.
This commitment to the community is part of Mercato Metropolitano’s broader mission, Movimento Metropolitano, to tackle the issues faced by the most vulnerable communities of London, supporting its belief that everyone has the right to food, and its determination to make food accessible to everyone.
Andrea Rasca, the founder and CEO of Mercato Metropolitano, said: “We are grateful to be recognised by the Mayor of London for our hard work and contribution to London. Since our inception we have worked to integrate with the local communities in which we operate to leverage the power of diversity and inclusion and create an environment where people feel empowered to be themselves, and enjoy delicious, nutritious food with one another regardless of one’s background, culture, or religion.
“But it doesn’t just stop here – Mercato Metropolitano will continue to work towards improving working lives for Londoners and uphold the highest employment standards in all of our market locations across London.”
Amy Lamé, London’s Night Czar said: “I am delighted to present Mercato Metropolitano with the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard accreditation.
“This achievement recognizes their commitment to providing fair pay and better working conditions for their staff, including those that work at night. They’re also providing employment for local people from diverse backgrounds, which is a brilliant example of the wider benefits of this scheme.
“Putting these values at the heart of their businesses will hopefully inspire others to adopt better standards for their employees, as we build a better London for everyone.”
