The real Living Wage is an hourly rate of pay set independently and updated annually (not the UK government’s National Living Wage). It is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK, and employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis.
Over 460,000 people working for 14,000 real Living Wage Employers throughout the country are set for a vital cost-of-living pay boost, as the Living Wage Foundation’s real Living Wage rates rise to £12 an hour across the UK (£1.10 increase), and £13.15 an hour in London (£1.20 increase).
The real Living Wage, set by the Living Wage Foundation, remains the only wage rates independently calculated based on what people need to live on. This year the rate increased by 10% in the UK, reflecting persistently high costs for low paid workers.
Recent research by the Living Wage Foundation shows that despite inflation easing, the cost-of-living crisis is far from over for Britain’s 3.5m low paid workers. Recent polling of those earning below the real Living Wage found that 60% have visited a food bank in the past year and 39% regularly skipping meals for financial reasons.
Unlike the Government minimum wage (‘National Living Wage’ for over 23s – £10.42) the real Living Wage is the only wage rate independently calculated based on rising living costs and applies to everyone over 18.
A full-time worker earning the new, real Living Wage would earn £3,081 a year more than a worker earning the current government minimum (NLW), and £2,145 more than their current pay. In London, a full-time worker on the new real Living Wage rate would earn an additional £5323.50 a year compared to a worker on the current NLW.
In the past two years record numbers of employers have signed up to pay the real Living Wage, including to their third-party contractors like cleaners and security guards, with 1 in 9 employees now working for an accredited Living Wage Employer.
There are now 14,000 Living Wage Employers, including half of the FTSE 100 companies and household names like Aviva, Everton FC, IKEA and LUSH, as well as thousands of small businesses, who are choosing to pay the real Living Wage to provide workers and families with greater security and stability.
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