Member Article

30,000 people now earning ‘London Living Wage’

London has seen a three per cent increase in the London Living Wage, according to a new report from The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

An 295 additional employers this year are now paying their staff the capital’s hourly rate, says the mayor’s office.

The London Living Wage has increased from £9.15 to £9.40 per hour, a rise of 2.7 per cent, and the calculation of the rate reflects the higher costs of living in the city.

Announcing the increase today, the Mayor also revealed the number of employers now paying their staff the London Living Wage has grown from 429 to 724 in the last 12 months. This compares with just 27 employers who publicly backed the Living Wage in 2008.

Major brands including Oliver Bonas, Chelsea Football Club and GlaxoSmithKline have all joined the army of organisations now accredited as London Living Wage employers over the last year, while last month Lidl became the first major supermarket to pay its staff the rate.

Since 2005 the London Living Wage has grown by 40.3 per cent and more than 30,000 workers stretching across the capital have benefited from the increased wage since 2011.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced the new rate for the London Living Wage while visiting an Oliver Bonas store at One New Change - the first major high street retailer to sign up to the initiative. He said: “I am delighted that more than 700 employers have signed up to paying the London Living Wage and we now have tens of thousands of employees being properly rewarded for the work they do.

“As our economy continues to grow and employment in London increases, it is essential all hardworking Londoners receive a fair share of the proceeds of the capital’s success.

“I have long argued that those companies that can afford to pay the London Living Wage should do so because there are clear benefits for employers in increasing productivity and reducing staff turnover, while it makes a real difference to the quality of life for employees. “I encourage businesses in the capital to follow the example of Lidl and Oliver Bonas and pay their staff the London Living Wage.”

Oliver Tress, Managing Director and Founder of Oliver Bonas said: “It makes complete sense to pay all our team at Oliver Bonas the London Living Wage. We want to pay a wage which both rewards our team for their hard work and loyalty and reflects the ‘real’ cost of living. We were the first retailer on the High Street to make this commitment and would encourage others to do so too.”

Sarah Vero, Director at the Living Wage Foundation, said: “Today’s announcement of the new, increased, London Living Wage rate brings a welcome pay rise to thousands of workers across the capital. Londoners are well aware that living costs in the capital have been rising faster than wages, and for many staff that are paid salaries close to the national minimums, life in this amazing city can be clouded by struggling from one pay day to the next.

“London businesses are leading the way, with hundreds of employers voluntarily paying their people the London Living Wage. This independently calculated rate reflects the real cost of living in London. The difference between this rate and the new minimum wage premium for over 25s of £7.20 is stark. Hard working Londoners are the capital’s life blood, they need a wage that respects the contribution they make to this great city.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .