Real Living Wage rises to £15.45 in London and £14.10 across UK

The Real Living Wage rose on 15 October 2026 to £15.45 an hour in London and £14.10 across the rest of the UK, according to the Mirror. The voluntary rates are 65p above their previous levels and are expected to raise pay for almost half a million workers at accredited employers.

The new London rate is up from £14.80 an hour; the UK-wide rate is up from £13.45. The Real Living Wage applies to workers whose employers have signed up to the Living Wage Foundation, rather than to every worker paid the legal minimum.

Who receives the new Real Living Wage

The Mirror reported that almost 17,000 employers are signed up to the voluntary standard, including Lush, Ikea and Aviva. The almost half-million figure describes workers expected to benefit from the increase, not the total number of people earning less than the new rate.

The Living Wage Foundation estimates that a full-time worker paid the new UK-wide rate would earn more than £2,700 a year above the current government minimum, according to the Mirror. In London, the Foundation puts the corresponding annual difference at more than £5,300. Those are the Foundation’s comparisons for full-time work, not figures for every worker receiving a rise.

Why the rise matters to workers and employers

The Mirror cited recent Living Wage Foundation research estimating that 61% of low-paid workers had cut back on food or heating, fallen behind on bills or housing payments, or taken out a payday loan for essentials over the past year. It said the Foundation estimated that 37% had used a food bank. The underlying survey methods were not available in the retained report.

Emily Sawh, co-director of the Living Wage Foundation, said millions of people remained in in-work poverty and urged more employers to adopt the rate, according to the Mirror. Because participation is voluntary, the change depends on employers signing up to the standard.

Employers are also facing wider labour costs. The Big Issue reported that employer National Insurance contributions rose from 13.8% to 15% in April 2025, while the annual threshold for payment fell from £9,100 to £5,000. It said business groups have argued that higher legal minimum wages can threaten entry-level and youth jobs; that argument concerns legal pay floors and does not establish an employment effect from this voluntary increase.