IWFM urges employers to ‘do the right thing’ and support real Living Wage rates

News

As the Living Wage Foundation today announces record increases to its ‘real Living Wage’ rates – based on actual living costs and higher than the official National Living Wage rate - IWFM Chief Executive Linda Hausmanis is calling on our sector’s employers to join the many Living Wage Employers and Recognised Service Providers already paying the real Living Wage to ensure that 'people are paid a fair wage for a day's work'.

The new real Living Wage rates, brought forward from November due to the cost-of-living crisis, have been set at £10.90 across the UK and £11.95 in London. This represents increases of £1 and 90p respectively – an up to 10% rise that is unprecedented in the Living Wage Foundation’s history. Both rates are significantly higher than the government-set National Living Wage, which is currently £9.50 for over-23s with no separate London-weighted rate.

While the National Living Wage is a legal requirement, the real Living Wage is voluntary and supported by employers who are accredited by the Foundation. IWFM is both an accredited Living Wage Employer and a member of the Living Wage Foundation’s Recognised Service Providers Leadership Group - organisations and businesses who promote adoption of the real Living Wage to directly employed workers and through supply chains across the workplace and facilities management sector.

Welcoming the new rates, CEO Linda Hausmanis commented:

‘Paying a fair wage for a day’s work is always the right thing to do and in challenging times it’s even more important to stand by lower paid workers, many on the services front-line, who not along ago were applauded for maintaining our critical services during national lockdowns.

‘Today’s uplift in rates will provide a vital cost-of-living boost, enabling those most affected to continue meeting their needs. IWFM is proud to support the real Living Wage and we urge others to do the same.’

To help our members make the business case for fairer wages, our guidance note, ‘The Living Wage: Why pay it and what does it mean for our profession?’, looks at the benefits – both to employees and to organisations – of adopting the real Living Wage, including case studies and testimonials. IWFM will update the rates in this guidance soon; in the meantime, please download it here to find out more.

On Thursday 29 September, the Living Wage Foundation is hosting a webinar on ‘Living Wage Rates Explained: A Webinar for Living Wage Employers’. Find out more and register here.