The Living Wage Foundation

The Living Wage Foundation is at the heart of the independent movement of businesses and people that campaign for a real Living Wage..

We used evidence-based research to build the case for improved working conditions in the UK, with a key focus on:

The scale of low pay and insecure work in the UK
The distribution of low pay and insecure work across sectors, demographics and regions
How low pay intersects with broader financial resilience
The business/economic benefits of improving pay the UK

We regularly produce reports and briefing notes on these areas, while also hosting discussion events on the key issues impacting low paid workers and how employers and policy-makers can ameliorate them.

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Latest reports

London’s low pay landscape

This report from UK think tank the Living Wage Foundation sets out to understand who earns less than the London Living Wage and the impact this has on their lives. This report sets out to understand who earns less than the London Living Wage, and the impact this has on their lives. It functions as...

Retirement realities

This report from UK think tank the Living Wage Foundation looks at the impact of the cost-of-living on pension savings and retirement expectations. Many people in the UK are experiencing poverty once they retire from work, and many more may be at risk of post-work poverty in the future if their pension contributions are not...

London’s living hours landscape: exploring insecure work in the capital

This report from UK think tank The Living Wage Foundation explores the scale of insecure work in London and the experiences of Londoners in insecure jobs. This report explores the scale of insecure work in London, as well as the experiences of Londoners employed in insecure jobs. We consider different aspects of insecure work, such...

Employee jobs paid below the Living Wage 2023

This report from UK think tank the Living Wage Foundation looks at the number and proportion of jobs paid below the real Living Wage in April 2023. This is the twelfth annual update to the 'Employee jobs paid below the Living Wage' report, which uses published data from the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Annual...

Life on low pay and inflation begins to ease

This report by UK think tank the Living Wage Foundation discusses the findings of their fourth 'Life on Low Pay survey. Costs remain high even as inflation begins to ease, leaving many low paid workers facing ongoing financial hardship. While workers across the income distribution are feeling the squeeze, the situation is particularly challenging for...

Precarious pay and uncertain hours

This report from UK think tank the Living Wage Foundation looks at how insecure work is a key feature of the UK economy. Several shockwaves have been sent through the UK Labour Market over recent years. Covid-19 saw all non-essential economic activity grind to a halt, leaving millions of workers furloughed and a smaller (though...

London’s low pay landscape

This report from UK think tank the Living Wage Foundation looks at the scale of low pay in London. Living costs in London are some of the highest in the world. As such, the experience of low pay in London is often even more challenging than in other parts of the UK. For most of...

Employee jobs below the Living Wage 2022

This report from UK think tank the Living Wage Foundation looks at employee jobs paid below the Living Wage. This is the eleventh annual update to the 'employee jobs paid below the Living Wage' report, which uses data from the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Annual Survey for Hours and Earnings (ASHE) to reveal the...

A living wage matters

This report from UK think tank the Living Wage Foundation looks at the role of the Living Wage in closing ethnicity pay gaps. The pandemic painfully revealed the racialised imbalances in the UK, with minority ethnic workers disproportionately exposed to the health and economic risks posed by Covid-19. This includes experiencing Covid-19 more severely with...

Life on low pay during a cost-of-living-crisis

This report from UK think tank the Living Wage Foundation looks at the UK’s 4.8m workers earning a wage which doesn’t meet actual living costs. With sky-high inflation becoming increasingly commonplace, the UK is facing the worst cost-of-living crisis in half a century. The crisis shows few signs of slowing any time soon, with significant...

The Living Hours Index

This report from UK think tank the Living Wage Foundation looks at the UK labour market by examining shift notice periods and shift cancellations. The Living Hours Index provides a unique perspective on the UK labour market by examining shift notice periods and shift cancellations. While not captured by the UK’s major labour market surveys...

Life on low pay 2022

This report from UK think tank the Living Wage Foundation looks at the impact that low pay has on households and families. During a period of unprecedented rises to the cost-of-living, we explore the impact that low pay has on households and families, with a particular focus on the increasing ‘bite’ of low pay with...

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Latest reports

London’s low pay landscape

Retirement realities

London’s living hours landscape: exploring insecure work in the capital

Employee jobs paid below the Living Wage 2023

Life on low pay and inflation begins to ease

Precarious pay and uncertain hours

London’s low pay landscape

Employee jobs below the Living Wage 2022

A living wage matters

Life on low pay during a cost-of-living-crisis

The Living Hours Index

Life on low pay 2022