MORE Bradford employers have signed up to the voluntary living wage scheme over the past year, new figures show.

The Living Wage Foundation encourages employers to sign up to pay a "real" living wage, which is higher than the minimum wage and pegged to living costs.

The rate, calculated by economists and applies to employees aged 18 and over, stands at £9.90 per hour across the UK and £11.05 in London.

For comparison, the Government's living wage stands at £9.50 per hour for people aged 23 and over, and £9.18 for over 21s.

Figures reveal 35 accredited real living wage employers in Bradford on July 1 – up from 27 last year and 17 five years ago.

Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said the cost-of-living crisis has made increasing wages for the low-paid "more important than ever".

She said paying the living wage is not only "the right thing to do for struggling workers and families, but it’s also good for businesses, with employers benefitting from greater staff morale and productivity and reduced staff absenteeism and turnover".

In May, 10,000 employers had signed up to the scheme – covering nearly 350,000 workers, or around 1 in 13 employees in the UK.

As of July 1, 10,765 UK organisations were paying the real living wage, up from 8,107 in 2021 and 3,383 in 2017.

 

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