The Living Wage

The living wage commission has announced its findings from its 12 month inquiry into the future of the living wage. The living wage, unlike the national minimum wage, is not a statutory minimum rate of pay, but a voluntary rate viewed as socially acceptable and intended to bring those on the lowest rates of pay above the poverty line. It is calculated by the Greater London Authority and the Centre for Research in Social Policy and increases each year as living costs rise.

The commission, made up of business leaders and anti-poverty groups and chaired by John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, recommends that the Government adopts the living wage as an 'explicit goal' to help lift 1 million workers out of low paid jobs. However, it refused to go further and support demands for legislation to create a higher minimum wage. Instead, the commission believes that the decision whether to adopt the living wage should be left for employers to decide, rather than being forced to