By paying the real Living Wage, employers are voluntarily taking a stand to ensure their employees can earn a wage which is enough to live on.
As well as it being the right thing to do, there is a growing body of evidence demonstrating the business benefits of becoming a Living Wage employer.
The Living Wage rates are independently calculated based on the real cost of living in the UK and London.
The new rates for 2023/24 are:
- £12 per hour UK rate; and
- £13.15 London rate. See: [Real Living Wage increases to £12 in UK and £13.15 in London | Living Wage Foundation](https://www.livingwage.org.uk/news/real-living-wage-increases-%C2%A312-uk-and-%C2%A31315-london)
The government has announced plans to raise an additional £7.5 billion by stepping up efforts to close the tax gap - the difference between the tax HMRC expects to collect and what is actually paid.
According to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics, the main rate of inflation decreased from 3.5% in April to 3.4% in the year to May.