No high street retail chain has committed to Living Wage

No high street retail chains have signed up for the Living Wage, according to recent reports conducted by The Independent.

Since launching the Living Wage Foundation, the charity Citizens UK have seen a number of small retailers joining the initiative. However, they have criticised the larger retailers, such as John Lewis and the Co-operative for their lack of involvement - despite their ‘ethical’ reputations.

The Living Wage refers to an increase in the hourly rate for employees, being independently set at £7.85, or £9.15 in London. Although optional, it has had attention from 1,200 firms so far, including National Express who reportedly signed up last week.

Neil Jameson, Director of Citizens UK, has criticised the larger retailers for their absence from the list of accredited employers, despite gaining huge profits, commenting that “it is a perverse situation when a supermarket worker, despite having a staff discount, can’t afford to shop in the store they work in because of poverty pay.”

The British Retail Consortium, however, defends retailers, arguing that “tackling low pay is an issue for all employers, and the situation is more complex than upping the minimum hourly rate of pay.”

This comes after KPMG’s Head of Living Wage, Mike Kelly, warned: “We are in danger of creating a ‘Lost Generation’ of low-paid youth workers in working poverty.”