The employers in Worcester that have pledged to pay their staff the real Living Wage have been revealed.

The Living Wage is a voluntary minimum pay level based on the amount of money people actually need to live.

Currently, the real Living Wage, calculated by the Living Wage Foundation, is £9.90 across the UK and £11.05 in London, for everyone aged 18 and older.

The Government’s National Living Wage for over 23s is £9.50 and the Minimum Wage, for under 23s, currently sits at £9.18.

New Living Wage rates will be announced in September and Living Wage employers will be expected to implement the rise by May 2023 at the latest.

These are the employers in Worcester signed up to the scheme:

Oasis Academy Warndon

Clean It Right Ltd

Pearson Vue Worcester

Skills for Security

Thursfields Solicitors

Bespoke Advice Ltd

YSS

Oxfam

Lloyds Bank

Nationwide Building Society

Diocese of Worcester

UNISON Worcester Branch

Santander

Radfield Home Care

Able Commercial Kleaners

Royal Life Saving Society

The Key

Clayton Window Cleaning

READ MORE: Worcester City Council and Worcestershire County Council staff on six figure salaries

Jane Evans, secretary of UNISON’s Worcester Branch, said: “UNISON has a long history of campaigning for a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s (or night’s) work, to prevent in-work poverty and exploitative low wages.

“We at UNISON’s Worcestershire branch are therefore proud to be a role model as a Living Wage Employer, while campaigning for fair wages for our members.

“Low pay is still a fact of life for too many, as close to five million people are still paid below the real Living Wage. Two-thirds of these are women, as women dominate essential careers that are notoriously underpaid and undervalued, such as caring, cleaning and catering.

“This structural sexism is clear to see in the social care workforce, where 73 per cent of workers are paid below the Living Wage. In the context of cuts to Universal Credit, soaring household bills, and empty promises of levelling up, the real Living Wage provides an important benchmark.”

She said UNISON and other unions in Worcestershire are also campaigning for longer-term solutions including an end to zero hours contracts and workers’ rights put at the heart of the UK’s recovery from the pandemic and financial crisis.