Real Living Wage (not to be confused with National Minimum Wage) increase to £9.90 in Wales

If you work for a real ‘Living Wage’ employer in Wales you’ll receive a welcome pay rise today.

Over 300,000 people working for almost 9,000 real Living Wage Employers throughout the UK are set for a vital pay boost as the new Living Wage rates rises by 40p rise to £9.90 across the UK (£11.05 in London).

There are around 35 Flintshire employers who have signed up to the Real Living Wage including several Deeside Industrial Estate-based firms and Coleg Cambria.

The Living Wage rates are the only rates independently calculated based on what people need to live on.

This year the movement for a real Living Wage celebrates its twentieth year, with new research from the Cardiff Business School showing Living Wage workers have benefitted from more than £1.6bn in extra wages during this period.

One in 13 workers now work 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 – £8.91 rising to £9.50 in April) the real Living Wage is the only wage rate independently calculated based on rising living costs – including fuel, energy, rent and food.

A full-time worker earning the new, real Living Wage would earn £1,930 a year more than a worker earning the current government minimum (NLW).

For a worker today that’s the equivalent of 7 months of food bills and more than 5 months’ rent based on average household spending in the UK.

Even on next April’s higher NLW rate of £9.50, a full-time worker on the real Living Wage would earn £780 more.

The increase in Living Wage rates this year has largely been driven by rising fuel and rent costs.

The Living Wage movement continues to grow 

Major new Living Wage employers announced today include FTSE 100 construction firms Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes, Fujitsu, food delivery company Getir, and Capita.

They join half of the FTSE 100 companies, household names like Aviva, Everton FC, Burberry and Lush as well as thousands of small businesses, who are choosing to pay the real Living Wage to ensure all staff earn a wage that meets the real cost of living.

More than 3,000 employers have now accredited with the Living Wage Foundation since the start of the pandemic.

Low pay in the UK  

The announcement of the new rates comes as new research by the Living Wage Foundation has demonstrated the scale of low pay during the pandemic, with 4.8 million jobs (17.1% of employee jobs) still paying less than the real Living Wage.

Northern Ireland had the highest proportion of jobs paying below the Living Wage (21.3% or 236,000) and the South East the lowest (12.8% or 533,000).

“With living costs rising so rapidly, today’s new Living Wage rates will provide hundreds of thousands of workers and their families with greater security and stability.

“For the past 20 years the Living Wage movement has shaped the debate on low pay, showing what is possible when responsible employers step up and provide a wage that delivers dignity.”

“Despite this, there are still millions trapped in working poverty, struggling to keep their heads above water – and these are people working in jobs that kept society going during the pandemic like social care workers and cleaners.”

“We know that the Living Wage is good for businesses as well as workers, and as we rebuild our economy post pandemic, the real Living Wage must be at its heart.”