London Living Wage increases to £11.95 as cost of living rises

London Living Wage increases to £11.95 as cost of living rises

• Over 140,000 Living Wage workers in London are set for a pay boost at over 2,500 Living Wage employers
• £338m in extra wages has gone to low-paid workers since January 2022 and more than £2bn since 2011
• £164m in extra wages has gone to low-paid workers in London since January 2022 and over £1 billion since 2011.
• The new rates are now worth £4777.50 more than the National Living Wage. The new rate increases to £11.95 from £11.05, a 90p increase and an extra £1755 per year

Over 140,000 people working for over 2,500 real Living Wage Employers in London are set for a vital cost-of-living pay boost, as the London Living Wage rises 8% to £11.95 (90p increase), supporting workers and families. The real Living Wage rate for the rest of the UK has risen to £10.90, a 10% increase.

This year’s Living Wage rates have been brought forward in recognition of the sharp increase in living costs over the past year.

The real Living Wage rates remain the only wage rates independently calculated based on what people need to live on. This year the rate increased by 10% in the UK and 8% in London, more than ever in the Living Wage Foundation’s 11-year history reflecting sharp increases in living costs.

New research from the Cardiff Business School shows that Living Wage workers have benefitted from more than £2bn in extra wages since the pandemic began, with one in 10 workers now working for an accredited Living Wage Employer.

The new Living Wage rates and the ‘National Living Wage’ - know the difference

Unlike the Government minimum wage (‘National Living Wage’ for over 23s - £9.50) the real Living Wage is the only wage rate independently calculated based on rising living costs. A full-time worker in London earning the new, London Living Wage would earn £4777.50 a year more than a worker earning the current government minimum (NLW), and 1755.00 more than their current pay.

In the rest of the UK, a full-time worker on the new real Living Wage rate would earn an additional £2730.00 a year compared to a worker on the current NLW and £1950 more than a worker on next year’s NLW.

The Living Wage movement continues to grow in London

Over the past two years, the Living Wage movement has continued to grow, with the number of Living Wage employers more than doubling and major new Living Wage employers announced during that time including the Royal Albert Hall, ExCel London, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council.

They join half of the FTSE 100 companies, household names like Aviva, Burberry and Lush as well as thousands of small businesses, who are choosing to pay the real Living Wage to provide workers and families with greater security and stability.

Low pay

There are 4.8m workers paid less than the real Living Wage and 700,000 are in the capital. 17.2% of all workers in London earn below the London Living Wage. Research published last week by the Living Wage Foundation found that over the past 6 months more workers are skipping meals and using food banks than ever before.

Making London a Living Wage City

Since 2021, communities, employers and key figures in the city have been working together to make London a Living Wage City and grow the number of people benefiting from the London Living Wage in the capital. The 'Making London a Living Wage City' project was launched by Citizens UK and Trust for London, to put £635m of wages back into the pockets of low-paid Londoners. The Steering Group for the project is made up of a coalition of civil society, business and public organisations, with co-chairs including Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, Bishop of London, and Anna Purchas, London Office Senior Partner at KPMG.