12.11.19
Living Wage Foundation calls for employers to join as UK Living Wage rises
The Living Wage Foundation has announced a new UK Living Wage hourly rate of £9.30 per hour, an increase of 30p per hour.
The new London Living Wage has risen to £10.75 per hour, a 20p per hour increase. This comes as living costs such as childcare and private rental costs, particularly in London, continue to rise.
The UK rate is currently £1.09 per hour higher than the government minimum wage for over 25s, and the London Living Wage is £2.54 per hour higher.
The rise means that over 210,000 workers, employed by Living Wage Employers are set for a pay rise.
There is currently a gap of £2,000 between the real Living Wage and the minimum wage, with this gap rising to £5,000 in London.
The Living Wage movement has resulted in over £1.1bn in extra wages put towards low-paid workers according to new research. This includes £257m in the last year alone.
Analysis from IHS Markit for KPMG has found that 5.2m workers are still paid below the real Living Wage, the lowest figure for seven years.
Yesterday (11 Nov) businesses and civic leaders in Salford and Cardiff have also announced plans to become the first Living Wage cities in England and Wales, committing to more than double the number of local workers getting the rate.
Living Wage Foundation Director, Katherine Chapman, said:
“In this time of uncertainty today’s new Living Wage rates give a boost to hundreds of thousands of UK workers. Good businesses know that the real Living Wage means happier, healthier and more motivated workers, and that providing workers with financial security is not only the right thing to do, but has real business benefits.”
“This year for the first-time cities and towns have announced big plans to grow the number of Living Wage Employers in their communities. We are delighted at the ambition of Cardiff and Salford to build Living Wage cities, with Cardiff planning to double the number of workers getting the real Living Wage to nearly 50,000, freeing many more families from the low pay trap. We hope to see many more towns and cities follow suit.”
The Living Wage Foundation are calling for all major employers to join the 6,000 companies across the UK already paying the real Living Wage.
Photo credit : Mario Guti