Real Living Wage new rates confirmed as half a million workers to get pay rise
by Catherine Addison-Swan · ChronicleLiveNearly half a million workers across the UK are set to receive a pay rise as the new Real Living Wage rates were confirmed today (Wednesday, October 23).
The Real Living Wage has increased to £12.60 an hour across the UK, an increase of 60p or five per cent, while the London rate has gone up to £13.85 an hour, a boost of 70p or 5.3%. Employers who have signed up to pay the Real Living Wage will have six months to implement the new rates by May 1, 2025.
The Real Living Wage is a wage rate based on living costs that is paid voluntarily by more than 15,000 businesses in the UK. According to the Living Wage Foundation, more than 460,000 employees have received a pay rise as a result of the campaign, which saw the wage first introduced in April 2016.
It is different to the Government's National Living Wage, which is the amount that must be paid by law to workers aged 21 and over. This amount increases every April, and currently stands at £11.44 an hour - working out at £2,262 a year less than what an employee on the Real Living Wage would earn.
Meanwhile, workers aged under 21 must be paid at least the Government's National Minimum Wage, which is £8.60 an hour, while there is an apprentice rate of £6.40 an hour for workers under 18 and apprentices who are either under 19, or over 19 and in the first year of their apprenticeship. By contrast, the Real Living Wage applies to all workers over the age of 18 working for a Living Wage Employer.
Half of the FTSE 100 companies, including household names such as Ikea, Lush and Aviva, have signed up to pay their workers the Real Living Wage, as well as thousands of small businesses. Katherine Chapman, Living Wage Foundation Director, said: "Low paid workers have been hardest hit by the cost of living crisis and are still struggling to stay afloat amidst persistently high prices.
"The Real Living Wage remains the only UK wage rate calculated based on actual living costs, and the new rates announced today will make a massive difference to almost half a million workers who will see their pay increase. It's a challenging time for businesses too, which is why it is so encouraging to see the Living Wage movement continue to grow at pace.
"This year, we reached the major milestone of 15,000 accredited Living Wage Employers - with half of them signing up since 2021. Employers who want to go beyond the Government's minimum wage and ensure their workers are paid in line with the real cost of living can look to these leading employers and accredit with the Living Wage Foundation."
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community
Join our County Durham community
Join our Great North Run community