Living Wage Week 2021

It’s almost the end of Living Wage Week 2021 and in addition to dozens of great webinars and live events around the country, the Living Wage Foundation released their most recent calculations on the Real Living Wage for the UK.

Determined by the cost of energy, food and common household items, the Real Living Wage is a good indication of the real cost of living and includes a separate weighting for London to account for increased prices in the capital. The Living Wage increased this year to £9.90 per hour, and £11.05 per hour in London - a rise of 40p and 20p respectively since last year.

The pandemic, as well as Brexit and supply chain shocks, have caused the cost of living to rise significantly in the past 18 months, so this increase of almost 4% should not be surprising. We can also see that while London continues to be far-and-away the most expensive place in the country, the cost of living is rising almost twice as fast outside the capital as it is within – a slightly worrying trend, especially for those concerned about the further impacts of a low-wage economy.

This year also marks the 20^th anniversary of the movement, which has seen over 8,500 employers gain accreditation – meaning that this latest increase will result in a pay rise for more than 300,000 workers across the country.

What’s more, over a third of accredited Living Wage Employers has signed up to the scheme since the beginning of the pandemic, which indicates an ever-increasing recognition of the importance of the movement, and a growing commitment from employers to ensure their staff enjoy a reasonable quality of life.

Here at Stroud Resourcing, the rise means we will be increasing our entry-level salary and contractor rates by the end of December, in line with the new Living Wage. We always try to pay above the living wage and offer living hours where possible, so we are increasing our rates of pay to reflect this. We’re also proud to be based in York - one of the UK’s first Living Wage Cities – where our local government and largest employers have been paying and championing the Living Wage since 2013.

All of this comes at a time when the job market - as well as employees’ expectations from a job – is changing rapidly. We’re looking forward to seeing how this conversation develops in the years to come, and as always, we’ll be leading by example to promote good pay, living hours and ethical business practices in our city and beyond.