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REAL LIVING WAGE INCREASES TO £9.30 IN UK AND £10.75 IN LONDON AS COST OF LIVING RISES

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  • The Living Wage Foundation announces new UK Living Wage hourly rate of £9.30 per hour, an increase of 30p per hour 
  • The new London Living Wage is £10.75 per hour, an increase of 20p per hour  
  • The UK rate is £1.09 per hour more than the government minimum wage (for over 25s) and the London Living Wage is £2.54 per hour higher 
  • Over 210,000 workers are set for a pay rise, with the difference between the real Living Wage and the minimum wage growing to over £2,000 UK wide and almost £5,000 in London.  
  • New research finds that over £1.1bn in extra wages has gone to low-paid workers because of the Living Wage movement, including £257 million in the last year alone.
  • Analysis from IHS Markit for KPMG finds that 5.2 million workers [1] are still paid under the real Living Wage; the lowest figure for seven years 

Over 210,000 people working for almost 6,000 real Living Wage Employers throughout the country are set for a pay boost as the new Living Wage rates rise to £9.30 across the UK, and £10.75 in London.  

A full-time worker paid the £9.30 real Living Wage will receive more than £2,000 in additional wages compared to current Government minimum – equivalent to 9 months of a typical family’s food and drink bill. In London a full time worker will receive £5,000 more per year, equivalent to an average family’s annual food, drink, gas and electric bills.*

The Living Wage rates are the only rates independently calculated based on what people need to live on. The London and UK rates are increasing by 20p (1.9 per cent) and 30p (3.3 per cent) respectively, with the single biggest factor explaining why the UK wide rate went up more quickly than the London rate being private rental costs (which rose faster UK wide). Childcare costs also rose at a faster rate outside of London. [2]   

A record 1,500 more employers have accredited with the Living Wage Foundation this year, with major new names including FTSE 100 company HiscoxCrystal Palace Football ClubWelsh WaterLondon City Airport and Newcastle University.   

Today, businesses and civic leaders in Salford and Cardiff have also announced ambitious 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.  

These organisations join a network of almost 6,000 employers across the UK, including more than a third of the FTSE 100 companies, household names like AvivaLushNationwide, Burberry, and Heathrow Airport as well as thousands of small businesses, who are choosing to pay the real Living Wage to ensure all staff, including sub-contracted workers, earn a wage that meets the real cost of living.  

The announcement comes as research by KPMG demonstrated the scale of in-work poverty, with 5.2 million jobs still paying less than the real Living Wage. There are big regional disparities, Northern Ireland had the highest percentage of jobs paying below the Living Wage (23%) and South East England the lowest (15%).  

The Living Wage Foundation is calling on all major employers to step up and tackle the rising problem of low pay by committing to go beyond the government minimum and pay a wage in line with the real cost of living.  

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.” 

West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady said:

“West Ham United has paid the London Living Wage to all staff since 2015, and has been an accredited employer for two years now and it is something we’re hugely proud of. The London Living Wage helps to ensure that we can support our staff at a time when we know the cost of living is rising across the country, not just in the capital. As such, we made a decision in 2015 to extend the initiative to staff based outside of London, in our retail stores across Essex. Embracing the London Living Wage means we recognise the contribution of each and every employee at the club. As a collective, the staff at West Ham United are our most valuable asset, and rewarding and retaining them is critically important. The Living Wage forms part of a wider programme of activity for our employees, focused on developing all our people, so that we can promote from within and maintain a culture whereby everyone working at West Ham has opportunities to succeed and drive their own careers.”  

Justin Welby, The Archbishop of Canterbury, said:

Living Wage Week 2019 is a moment to celebrate what can be done when faith organisations, civil society and businesses pull together around values that unite us. With thousands of employers now accredited by the Living Wage Foundation, it’s no longer just a campaign: it’s a movement that is transforming lives. With our presence in every community around the country, I’m delighted that the Church of England is part of this exciting and essential effort to ensure every person can have, in the words of Jesus, “life in all its fullness”.” 

Pam Batty, VP of Corporate Responsibility, Burberry said:

“At Burberry, we believe everyone has the right to fulfilling and productive employment where they are fairly rewarded. As a leader in the Living Wage movement in the UK, we are calling on all companies to join the pledge, as we know it will meaningfully improve the lives of their people, who are their most valuable asset.” 

Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair at the City of London Corporation, which is an accredited Living Wage employer, said:

“Paying the Living Wage helps improve quality of life and gives people the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families.

“But there is still much more to be done. One in five people employed in London don’t earn a wage they can live on and we all have a responsibility to change this statistic.

“We want all firms to recognise that paying the Living Wage is not just the right thing to do, it’s good for their businesses too.”

Join nearly 6000 responsible employers paying the real Living Wage today!

Living Wage Foundation Media Contacts for interviews and case studies: Emily Roe [email protected] 02080172931/ or Andy May [email protected] / 07917 824009 

Over 210,000 people working for almost 6,000 real Living Wage Employers throughout the country are set for a pay boost as the new Living Wage rates rise to £9.30 across the UK, and £10.75 in London.  

A full-time worker paid the £9.30 real Living Wage will receive more than £2,000 in additional wages compared to current Government minimum – equivalent to 9 months of a typical family’s food and drink bill. In London a full time worker will receive £5,000 more per year, equivalent to an average family’s annual food, drink, gas and electric bills.* 


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