Just handful of employers sign up to pay real living wage in Chesterfield

Just a handful of employers in Chesterfield have signed up to the voluntary living wage scheme, new figures show.
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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, which is calculated by a group of economists and applies to employees aged 18 and over, currently stands at £9.90 per hour across the UK and £11.05 in London, to reflect higher prices in the capital.

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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.

Only a handful of employers in Chesterfield pay a living wage.Only a handful of employers in Chesterfield pay a living wage.
Only a handful of employers in Chesterfield pay a living wage.

Figures shared with RADAR show there were four accredited real living wage employers in Chesterfield as of the start of July – up from three at the same point last year and three five years ago.

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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 benefiting from greater staff morale and productivity, and reduced staff absenteeism and turnover".

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The Office for National Statistics estimated that in April 2021 nearly 300,000 employees were paid below the Government's living or minimum wage, excluding those furloughed at the time, with service workers particularly likely to suffer low pay.

The latest estimates from the Bank of England suggest inflation could hit 13% in the fourth quarter of this year.

The Trades Union Congress, a federation of workers' groups, said recently that this would result in an unprecedented drop in pay in real terms, with wages expected to rise by 5.3% over the same period.

A spokesperson for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the Government is "determined to make work pay".

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"We know the pressures people are facing with rising costs, which is why we have continually taken action to help households by phasing in £37 billion worth of support.

“In the long-term, we are committed to building a high skilled, high wage economy that delivers on our ambition to make the UK the best place in the world to work.”