Living Wage Employer

Living Wage Employers

For organisations wanting to demonstrate their commitment as a responsible employer, Living Wage accreditation is the best place to start. By paying the real Living Wage, employers are voluntarily taking a stand to ensure their employees can earn a wage which is enough to live on. That basic fairness is at the heart of what the Living Wage campaign is trying to achieve and why great businesses and organisations choose to go further than the government minimum. As well as it being the right thing to do, there is a growing body of evidence demonstrating the business benefits of becoming a Living Wage Employer.

Find out more information here.

What is the Government's National Living Wage rate?
As of the 21st November 2023, The Government has announced their new 'National Living Wage' rates for 2024 as £11.44 an hour, and have adjusted this to include 21 year olds and over. This won't come into effect until April 2024, and even when it does come into effect, will still be £1,092 a year short of what a worker on the real Living Wage would earn, and £3,334.5 less than a worker on the London Living Wage. You can find out more about the Government's National Living Wage rates here.

In April 2016 the government introduced a higher minimum wage rate for all staff over 25 years of age inspired by the Living Wage campaign - even calling it the ‘national living wage’.

However, this wage is not calculated according to what employees and their families need to live. Instead, it is based on a target to reach 66% of median earnings by 2024. As of April 1st 2024, the government minimum will be adjusted to include those over 21 years old.

The real Living Wage rates are higher because they are independently-calculated based on what people need to get by. That's why we encourage all employers that can afford to, to ensure their employees earn a wage that meets the costs of living, not just the government minimum.