Thousands of employees are in line for a pay rise to at least £12 an hour, taking their annual wage to £3,000 a year above the government’s minimum wage.
Workers in London will see their pay rise from £11.95 to £13.15 if their employer has joined the scheme.
Employers can choose to pay the real living wage, a rate that is higher than the government-set minimum wage.
The Living Wage Foundation, which sets the rate, stated the rise was needed after research found the cost of living crisis continued to affect many of Britain’s low-paid workers.
The rise would be a “lifeline” for low-paid workers, the Living Wage Foundation said.
The charity said recent polling of those earning below the real living wage found 60 percent had visited a food bank in the past year and 39 percent regularly skipped meals for financial reasons.
The real living wage is paid by more than 14,000 employers and their contractors, up from 11,000 last year, including Aviva, Ikea, Burberry and Lush.
These firms will increase basic pay levels by £1.10 to £12 an hour across the UK, and by £1.20 to £13.15 an hour in London.
Katherine Chapman, the Living Wage Foundation’s director, said employers that signed up to pay the higher wage were rewarded with “a more motivated and engaged workforce”.
She said the scheme had given £3bn in extra wages to low-paid workers since 2011 and remains the only one in the UK “independently calculated based on what people need to live on”.
Employers that pay the real living wage can push through the increase immediately or wait until a final deadline next May.
