More than 460,000 people across the UK will see their “real living wage” rise by 10% amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Rates will increase to £12 an hour outside London — a rise of £1.10. In the capital it will rise to £13.15 an hour — a £1.20 increase from this Tuesday.
The rate, which is voluntarily paid by some employers, applies to everyone over the age of 18 and compares to the statutory national living wage for over-23s of £10.42 an hour.
Over 460,000 people, employed by 14,000 employers, receive the real living wage, with the retail, care and hospitality sectors accounting for a large number of these jobs.
“As inflation eases, we cannot forget that low-paid workers remain at the sharp end of the cost of living crisis,” Living Wage Foundation director Katherine Chapman said.
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According to the foundation, a full-time worker earning the new real living wage will earn £3,081 more per year than someone on the current government minimum, and an additional £5,323 in London
“Low-paid workers continue to struggle with stubbornly high prices because they spend a larger share of their budget on food and energy. These new rates are a lifeline for the 460,000 workers who will get a pay rise,” Chapman added.
Research by the foundation found that, despite easing inflation, the cost of living crisis is far from over for low-paid workers, with 50% worse off than a year ago.
More than two in five low-paid workers say they regularly use a food bank and almost as many report falling behind on household bills, according to the Living Wage Foundation.
The real living wage is decided by the Living Wage Foundation and the rate is set based on current living costs, such as the cost of bills. It is different from the national living wage, an “obligatory” minimum wage businesses pay workers in the UK aged 23 and over for each hour they work.
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Real living wage employers include the Royal Albert Hall, Aston University, and the Excel Centre, as well as about half of the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) companies including insurer Aviva (AV.L).
UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt has confirmed that from April next year, the national living wage will rise from the current £10.42 an hour to at least £11 an hour. The increase would see the annual earnings of a full-time worker earning this amount increase by £1,000 a year.
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