Almost 500,000 employees are in line for a salary increase following the announcement of a hike in the Real Living Wage. The Real Living Wage, a discretionary wage for individuals over 18 years old employed by Living Wage Foundation members, is premised on covering essential expenses like food, clothing, and household bills.
The new hourly rates will climb by 85p to £13.45 per hour, a 6.7% uptick, and by 95p to £14.80 per hour in London, a 6.9% rise, surpassing the legal minimum wage. The Real Living Wage is applicable to all employees over 18 years old working for certified employers, totaling over 16,000 entities.
This year’s escalation equates to an additional £2,418 annually for a full-time Real Living Wage earner compared to a minimum wage counterpart, and a £5,050 increment in London, as confirmed by the Living Wage Foundation.
Katherine Chapman, the executive director of the Living Wage Foundation, emphasized the importance of a wage that caters to basic necessities, highlighting the real living wage’s role in addressing escalating living costs for workers and their families.
She urged more employers to adopt wages reflecting the true cost of living, emphasizing the current plight of 4.5 million individuals earning less than the real living wage and grappling with in-work poverty.
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea lauded the wage increase as a pivotal step to lift workers out of poverty, especially those under fair employers. However, she stressed the government’s duty to ensure decent pay for public service workers to prevent financial struggles and potential workforce losses.
McAnea particularly raised concerns about NHS staff falling further below the real living wage rate and the subsequent risk of losing essential personnel to higher-paying sectors, urging government intervention in rectifying the situation.