The Living Wage Foundation has today announced a 20p increase in its pay rate, representing a 3.7 per cent rise in wages for employees.
The voluntary pay rate, which is not associated with the Government’s mandatory National Living Wage (NLW), has increased to £9.75 per hour in London, and £8.45 per hour across the rest of the country.
By comparison, the NLW is set at just £7.20 for workers aged 25 and over.
Employers can opt in to join the Foundation, which sees employees given “fair” salaries to support “the real cost of living”.
Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: “Today’s new living wage rates bring a welcome pay rise to thousands of workers across the UK.
“One in five people earn less than the wage they need to get by. That’s why it’s more important than ever for leading employers to join the growing movement of businesses and organisations that are going further than the government minimum and making sure their employees earn enough to cover the cost of living.”
A variety of high-profile employers belong to the foundation – Everton Football Club being among them.
Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale, deputy chief executive and director at Everton Football Club, said: “Here at Everton we are committed to being a first-choice employer and becoming Living Wage accredited is a natural step towards that.
“Supporting the accredited Living Wage is quite simply the right thing to do; it improves our employees’ quality of life but also benefits our business and society as a whole.”
London Mayor, Sadiq, Khan added that paying the London Living Wage made “good business sense” and would increase productivity and reduce staff turnover.
He said: “I’m glad to say we’re well on track to see it rise to over £10 an hour during my mayoralty, but we need to go further and for many more businesses and organisations to sign up.”
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