This week was Living Wage Week 2021 when the Living Wage Campaign celebrated its 20th year. We’re pleased to have raised awareness and to have shared ways for others to find out more.
What is the real Living Wage?
The real Living Wage is a wage rate that is higher than the minimum wage set out by the government. Almost 9000 UK businesses now choose to pay their staff the real Living Wage. It’s an independently calculated wage rate based on what people need to get by and means that wages meet the real cost of living.
The Living Wage Foundation is supported by a network of Principle Partners from Everton Football Club to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and focusses on Accreditation, Intelligence and Influence to campaign for the idea that ‘a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay’.
At Lamplight we adopted the real Living Wage as an important part of our commitment to being a responsible employer.
What has the movement achieved so far?
The Living Wage Campaign was initiated by Citizens UK in 2001 when low pay was repeatedly raised as an issue affecting the community in East London. They explain that, with the government minimum wage at £3.70 an hour at the time, some people worked two or three minimum wage jobs and still struggled to afford to get by. Since then, the campaign has won over £1.3 billion of additional wages and lifted over 260,000 people out of working poverty.
