The Real Living Wage
The GBC requires all employers to pay all directly-employed staff the real living wage and pay or have a plan in place, with achievable actions, to pay regularly-contracted staff the real living wage as set out by the Living Wage Foundation.
Please note: new rates were announced on 23rd October 2024. Organisations have until 1st May 2025 to implement the increase.
Impact – Why The Real Living Wage Matters
People who are earning less than the real living wage struggle to afford the basics. The real living wage is independently calculated to ensure it covers what is needed to live in the UK and helps reduce wage inequality.
Uplifting people to real living wage may represent a short-term cost, but long-term gain in terms of increased retention and a reduction in recruitment costs.
The Real Living Wage In Practice
Case study: Empowering change through fair pay
We spoke to some of our accredited organisations to find out how paying the real living wage has helped their business and employees.
Case study: The benefits of ethical business
Silver Birch Care discusses the benefits of paying the Real Living Wage for their business and its employees.
Resources
Our Stance On - Tips and Bonuses
Tips and bonuses can be included as part of the pay of a worker – so the base pay does not need to be set at the real living wage if these additional sources of income take them beyond that. However, employers must have a guaranteed monthly income for these workers that works out as at least equal to the real living wage. To be clear, if one month bonuses or tips are below average, and it means the worker will receive less than real living wage, their salary should be topped up to ensure your organisation complies with this component.
