Business · Economy · 3 hrs ago
Real living wage rises to £14.10 an hour across the UK
The real living wage rates are rising to £14.10 an hour across the UK and £15.45 in London.
Nearly 17,000 employers have signed up to pay these rates, and close to 500,000 workers are expected to get a pay rise of more than 4 per cent.
The rates are set by the Living Wage Foundation, which bases them on the cost of essentials such as housing, food and energy.
They are voluntary, unlike the government’s national living wage, which is £12.71 an hour for employees aged 21 and over.
The Foundation estimates that a worker on its real living wage will earn more than £2,700 a year extra compared with someone on the government minimum.
The rise is intended to help workers meet everyday costs, though the Foundation says millions still struggle with in-work poverty and is urging more employers to sign up.
The voluntary Real Living Wage has risen to £14.10 an hour across the UK and £15.45 an hour in London.
The new rates are expected to give almost 500,000 workers a pay rise.
A full-time worker on the UK rate will earn over £1,250 more a year, according to the Living Wage Foundation.
The Real Living Wage is based on the cost of essentials and is paid by employers that sign up to the scheme.
It is separate from the government’s statutory minimum wage.
- Who
- Almost 500,000 workers employed by Living Wage employers.
- What
- The voluntary Real Living Wage has risen to £14.10 an hour across the UK and £15.45 in London.
- When
- The new rates take effect on 14 October 2026.
- Where
- Across the UK, with a separate rate for London.
- Why
- The rates are calculated based on the cost of essentials such as housing, food and energy.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Living Wage campaign began as a hopeful idea driven by low-paid workers in East London organising for decent pay.
The Real Living Wage rates rose to £14.10 an hour across the UK and £15.45 an hour in London.
- UK hourly rate
- £14.10
- London hourly rate
- £15.45
- UK rate increase
- 65p, or 4.8 per cent
- Living Wage employers
- Nearly 17,000
- Workers expected to receive rises
- Almost 500,000
- Full-time annual increase
- Over £1,250
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What people are saying
Today’s increase to the real living wage will make a massive difference to hundreds of thousands of workers and their families up and down the country. They will be over £1,250 better off this year thanks to the rise, helping them achieve the decent standard of living they need to thrive.
Despite the Living Wage campaign’s monumental impact on wages in the UK, there are still millions of workers trapped in in-work poverty and struggling every day to make ends meet.