More than 15,000 UK employers have now signed up to pay the ‘real’ Living Wage, double the number from three years ago.
The voluntary rate, set independently by the Living Wage Foundation, is calculated to include the cost of living. It is currently £12 an hour across the UK, and £13.15 an hour in London.
The national living wage set by the government is £11.44, and only applies to workers aged 21 and over.
One in nine workers now work for a Living Wage Employer, the foundation said, and 7,500 employers have signed up to the rate since 2021.
However, it warned that over 3.7 million workers still earn below this rate, 60% of whom are using foodbanks, 39% regularly skipping meals to save money, and 39% are behind on household bills, according to its research.
‘Real’ Living Wage
The LWF also cited research from Cardiff Business School showing that 94% of Living Wage Employers benefited from accreditation, with employers reporting improvements in recruitment, retention and reputation.
On top of Living Wage accreditation, employers can also sign up to become Living Hours employers, where they guarantee staff a minimum of 16 hours per week and greater security around shift patterns. Over 150 Living Wage employers have joined this pledge, it said.
More than 40 employers have signed up to offer employees a Living Pension, it added. This means the employer commits to either a cash benchmark (£2,800) or percentage of full-time salary (12%).
Eleven employers have signed up for the Living Wage, Living Hours and Living Pension commitments, the organisation said. These include Aviva, SSE and Dear Green Coffee Roaster.
Fred Perry and Pieminister are two of the latest companies to sign up for the Living Wage.
Tristan Hogg, CEO and managing director of Pieminister said the accreditation was “essential for any business that wants to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to caring for its workforce”.
“Many of the individuals at Pieminister who have been most positively impacted by a wage increase are directly involved with our pie making process – and deservedly so.”
Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation added: “Our growing network of accredited employers are committed to always paying their staff a wage based on the cost of living.
“Since the Living Wage movement began over 20 years ago, over 460,000 workers have received pay rises and over £3 billion has been put back into the pockets of low paid workers.”
Earlier this year, a small number of companies including Capita and Brewdog pulled out of their Living Wage pledges after the recommended rate increased by 10% two years in a row.
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