Almost half a million workers are set for a pay rise as the voluntary Real Living Wage rises from today. The rate is increasing from £13.45 to £14.10 an hour across the UK and from £14.80 to £15.45 an hour in London. Full-time workers on the Real Living Wage will receive a pay rise worth over £1,250.
What is the Real Living Wage?
The Real Living Wage is different to the statutory minimum wage set by the Government. It is a voluntary pay rate for workers over the age of 18, whose employer is signed up to the Living Wage Foundation. There are almost 17,000 Real Living Wage Employers throughout the country, including Lush, Ikea and Aviva. The rate is based on the actual cost of affording essentials such as food, clothing and household bills.
How much more can workers earn?
Living Wage Foundation analysis shows that a full-time worker earning the new Real Living Wage would earn over £2,700 a year more than a worker earning the current government minimum. In London, full-time workers on the new London Living Wage will earn over £5,300 a year more than the statutory minimum.
Struggles and new sign-ups
Recent research by the Living Wage Foundation shows that many have struggled to make ends meet. An estimated 61% of low-paid workers have cut back on food or heating, fallen behind on bills or housing payments, or taken out a payday loan to cover essentials over the past year, and 37% have used a foodbank.
But more than 2,000 new employers have signed up to pay the Real Living Wage over the past year, including Uniqlo, the Department for Business and Trade and Coventry Building Society, with one in seven UK employees now working for an accredited Living Wage Employer.
Emily Sawh, Co-Director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: "Despite the Living Wage campaign’s monumental impact on wages in the UK, there are still millions of workers trapped in in-work poverty and struggling every day to make ends meet. They're forced to skip meals, fall behind on bills and visit foodbanks. That's why we urge employers to do the right thing by signing up to pay the real Living Wage and providing workers with the decent standard of living they need to thrive."
