According to the Living Wage Foundation, since 2001 the campaign has impacted over 10,000 employees and redistributed over ÂŁ96 million to some of the lowest paid workers in the UK.
Greater London Authority calculates the London Living Wage, which is currently ÂŁ8.30 per hour. For the rest of the UK, the Living Wage is calculated by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University and is currently ÂŁ7.20 per hour. By comparison, the UK minimum wage in 2012, effective from 1st October 2012, is ÂŁ6.19. From November 2012, both Living Wage figures will be announced annually in November of each year.
Research compiled by Markit, in a KPMG Living Wage Household Finance Index survey, used the Living Wage threshold as at October 2012. Overall conclusions reported in this survey included:
• Exactly 41% of people earning below the Living Wage reporting worsening finances.
• Six times as many saw savings fall (30%) as those who indicated a rise (5%).
• Higher debt contrasted with a decline in debt among people above the Living Wage.
• The squeeze on cash availability is much greater for people earning below the Living Wage.
• Actual spending rose at similar rates on both sides of the Living Wage threshold but people earning below the Living Wage reported a much steeper drop in their appetite for major purchases.
• Compared to those earning the Living Wage or above, people earning below the Living Wage are especially downbeat about savings, workplace activity and ease of access to unsecured credit.
In relation to the structure and patterns of hourly pay across UK jobs and regions, the key survey findings were:
• An estimated one-in-five workers across the UK are earning below the Living Wage, amounting to some 4.82 million people.
• The largest occupational category within this is sales & retail assistants, of which there are an estimated 780,000 people earning less than the Living Wage.
• As a proportion of all workers, the highest prevalence of sub-Living Wage earners is among bar staff (an estimated 90% of workers in this category) and waiters & waitresses (85%), partly reflecting the reliance of these workers on discretionary tips to top up earnings.
• Elsewhere, the highest proportion of below Living Wage earners, averaging 75%, is in kitchen & catering assistants, elementary personal services occupations and launders, dry cleaners & pressers.
• Below Living Wage estimates vary across regions, with Northern Ireland (24%) having the highest proportion of workers below the Living Wage.
• London and the South East, both at 16%, have the lowest proportion of those earning less than the Living Wage.
