'Reduced our turnover' | Be like West Ham Utd & IKEA: Why more employers should sign up to voluntary living wage schemes

Earlier this week, over 140,000 Londoners earned a 5.3% pay rise from £13.15 to £13.85 per hour.

Some ineligible workers were perhaps left scratching their heads, wondering why they hadn’t heard anything from their employer about a 70p increase in their hourly rate; and possibly frustrated to learn that those entitled to the pay rise working full-time now stand to earn an extra £4,700 a year.

Why are some employers increasing their wage rate but not others? The new wage was introduced by the Living Wage Foundation, a charity that independently calculates its rate using cost of living data.

The scheme is separate from the National Living Wage set by the government – which sits at £11.44 per hour for those aged 21 and up – with employers voluntarily signing up to match the living wage set by the foundation.