To coincide with Living Wage Week which runs from the 5th to the 10th November, countless websites are reporting that the Real Living Wage is increasing to £10.55 in London and £9 across the rest of the UK.
You’d be forgiven for thinking this means that every low paid worker will automatically get a pay rise. In reality, millions of workers across the UK will continue to be paid far less than they need and deserve.
This is because although the Real Living Wage sounds like something everyone is entitled to, in reality, most employers don’t have to pay it.
Let’s take a look at the different rules surrounding wages across the UK to find out what you’re entitled to and what you can do to help make wages fairer for everyone.
National Minimum Wage
At the time of writing, the National Minimum Wage is set at £7.38 for those aged 21 to 24.
18 to 20-year-olds must be paid at least £5.90.
Those aged 16-17 must be paid at least £4.20.
Apprentices under the age of 19 must be paid at least £3.70. If an apprentice is aged 19 and in the first year of their apprenticeship, they’re also entitled to £3.70, but if an apprentice is over 19 and has completed the first year, they’re entitled to the National Minimum Wage based on their age.
The National Minimum Wage is paid regardless of whether the worker is in London or not.
National Living Wage
The National Living Wage is set at £7.83 and every worker aged 25 or above must be paid this wage.
The National Living Wage is paid regardless of whether the worker is in London or not.
The National Living Wage is different to The Real Living Wage, which I’ll explain below.
Real Living Wage
The Real Living Wage is set by The Living Wage Foundation and applies to all workers over the age of 18. It’s the only wage based on what people actually need to live. It has been calculated by experts, taking into account the cost of living, and is based on a basket of household goods and services.
Unfortunately, this isn’t compulsory and most employers refuse to increase their wages to coincide with workers’ needs.
Currently, the Real Living Wage stands at £10.55 in London and £9 across the rest of the UK. The separate London weighting has been introduced to reflect the larger cost of living in the capital.
Why did the government introduce the National Living Wage?
In April 2016, the government introduced a higher minimum wage for all staff over the age of 25. This higher minimum wage was inspired by the Living Wage campaign and named the ‘National Living Wage’.
It sounds good, but if you ask me, it’s pretty shady that it’s been called a ‘living wage’ when it isn’t in fact enough for people to live on and isn’t actually calculated based on what employees and their families need to get by.
Although it’s certainly better than the minimum wage, it’s added unnecessary confusion while also making the government look like they’re doing more than they are doing to help low-paid workers.
Who has to pay the Real Living Wage?
Although the Real Living Wage is not compulsory, more than 4,700 UK businesses have pledged to become Real Living Wage employers. This means they’re willing to increase the wages of their lowest paid employees to coincide with what people actually need.
In return, they get a pat on the back for paying their staff fairly. Personally, I don’t think paying your staff fairly warrants a Blue Peter Badge, but with so many tight-fisted business owners refusing to pay their employees enough to live a dignified life, I guess we ought to be grateful of the ones that aren’t complete dicks.
I suppose if we don’t sing the praises of Real Living Wage employers, they have little to no incentive to not exploit their employees’ hard work. *Sigh*
So, following news that the Real Living Wage will rise, who will this benefit?
The news that the Real Living Wage is increasing to £10.55 in London and £9 an hour elsewhere in the UK will benefit every worker whose employer has voluntarily signed up to the Real Living Wage initiative.
I find it highly misleading that people are celebrating the increase when it simply means that the cost of living has risen and the Living Wage Foundation are increasing their not-even-mandatory wage guidelines to reflect that.
What if a small business can’t afford to pay its employees the Real Living Wage?
As far as I’m concerned, if your small business can’t afford to pay its employees the Real Living Wage, you simply aren’t in a position to have employees at all. If you have to exploit and underpay workers in a quest for success, your business model is broken.
What can I do to help make things more fair?
Follow the work that Citizens UK does. I personally recommend signing up for their newsletter as they’ll occasionally send you news and petitions that you can get involved in. They aren’t spammy and won’t bombard you with too many emails, so that’s nice.
Write to your local MP to express your concerns.
Vote for political parties that express a dedication to making wages more fair.
If you’re in a position to, encourage your employer to sign up to the Living Wage Foundation and become a Real Living Wage employer. I appreciate that not all employees will be in a position to have this conversation with their boss and it could put your job on the line if your boss is a twat. So please feel free to ignore this suggestion if necessary.
You can also write to other employers to urge them to become Real Living Wage employers. Although this won’t immediately impact you, the more employers that sign up, the better. We need to put pressure on businesses to pay their workers fairly and show them that poor pay is unacceptable.
