More than 300,000 workers are set to receive a raise after higher rates were announced for the Real Living Wage, a voluntary rate paid by thousands of employers.
The new hourly rate will be £ 9.90 in the UK, except in London where it will be raised to £ 11.05 – an increase of 20p and 40p respectively.
The Living Wage Foundation, which sets the tariffs, said nearly 9,000 employers across the country are now paying the wage, which is higher than the statutory National Living Wage of £ 8.91 an hour for adults, which rose to 9.50 in April Pound will go up. Workers who have paid the higher rate have benefited from more than £ 1.6 billion in additional wages since the campaign began 20 years ago.
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According to the foundation, one in 13 people today works for an accredited employer for living wages.
The foundation announced that new employers signing up to pay the higher tariffs include construction companies Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes, Fujitsu, grocery company Getir and Capita.
Over 3,000 employers have been accredited to the Living Wage Foundation since the pandemic started in March 2020, however the foundation said 4.8 million jobs are still paying less than the Real Living Wage.
Katherine Chapman, Director of the Living Wage Foundation, said, “With the cost of living soaring, today’s new Living Wage sets will provide security and stability for hundreds of thousands of workers and their families.
“For the past 20 years, the Living Wage movement has shaped the debate about low wages and has shown what is possible when responsible employers rise and offer decent wages.
“Even so, millions are still trapped in working poverty struggling to survive, and these are people who work in jobs that kept society going during the pandemic, like social workers and cleaners.”
TUC Secretary General Frances O’Grady said the report shows that low wages are “endemic”, with millions of workers in jobs not paying the bills or putting food on the table.
She added: “After 11 years of conservative government, real wages are only just about to return to their 2009 levels, and the budget has shown that we are facing another half-decade of wage stagnation.
“With Britain in the midst of a cost of living crisis, it is time for the government to act.
“Ministers must start immediately raising the minimum wage to £ 10, banning zero-hour contracts and allowing unions better access to jobs to negotiate better wages and terms.”
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A UK government spokesman said: “The government is determined to make work pay after recently announcing a substantial increase in the national living wage to £ 9.50 an hour from April 2022 – the largest increase since its inception of National Living Increase Dare to hit two-thirds of median income by 2024.
“The minimum wage is a statutory minimum wage, and we recommend employers who can pay more if they can afford it.
“We are determined to go further to support workers and are moving forward with plans to introduce a new right for all workers to require a more predictable contract from their employers that gives individuals the security they need.”
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