Fifth of workers paid less than recommended living wage
A fifth (22 per cent) of workers in Britain earn less than the amount deemed to be a living wage, according to research out today.
The study, carried out by Markit on behalf of KPMG, discovered that some 5.6m workers are paid less than the £8.25 per hour, or the £9.40 per hour in London, recommended by the Living Wage Foundation, with part-time jobs being three times more likely to dip below the hourly guidance.
While the recommended amount of pay has been steadily rising over the last few years, workers' wages have not been keeping pace. Just 19 per cent of workers earned less than the living wage in 2012, when KPMG and Markit first started crunching the numbers.
Northern Ireland is the region with the highest proportion of people earning below the voluntary living wage at 27 per cent.
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Although, at 18 per cent, London is one of the regions with the lowest proportion of people earning below the voluntary living wage, thanks to the sheer number of people working in the capital, it is the region with the highest number of workers (722,000) whose pay doesn't meet the mark.
“Today's figures show that much more needs to be done if we are to eradicate in-work poverty," said Simon Collins, senior partner and UK chairman at KPMG. "The reality is that more than 5m working people in the UK are only earning enough to 'get by' and cannot enjoy the standard of life so many of us take for granted."
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Katherine Chapman, Living Wage Foundation director, added:
Today's report shows that there are still millions of people who don't earn enough to make ends meet, and many who feel that their finances are getting worse not better. That's why the need for employers to go further than the government minimum to ensure their employees earn a real living wage is as important as ever.
The living wage as recommended by the Living Wage Foundation is a voluntary guideline and is not the same as the national living wage, which was introduced in April for employees aged over 25 and currently stands at £7.20 per hour.
The voluntary living wage is reviewed every year and a new rate is expected to be announced tomorrow.