By paying the real Living Wage, employers are voluntarily taking a stand to ensure their employees can earn a wage which is enough to live on.
As well as it being the right thing to do, there is a growing body of evidence demonstrating the business benefits of becoming a Living Wage employer.
The Living Wage rates are independently calculated based on the real cost of living in the UK and London.
The new rates for 2023/24 are:
- £12 per hour UK rate; and
- £13.15 London rate. See: [Real Living Wage increases to £12 in UK and £13.15 in London | Living Wage Foundation](https://www.livingwage.org.uk/news/real-living-wage-increases-%C2%A312-uk-and-%C2%A31315-london)
The June 'UK Report on Jobs' shows subdued business confidence driving a preference for short-term staff. Temporary staff billings rose at the steepest rate in over three years, while permanent staff appointments continued to decline, although at a much slower pace than in May.
HMRC have proposed a new criminal offence for making reckless, untrue statements or declarations about what's known as 'direct taxes' - Income Tax, National Insurance and the like. For Customs and Excise and VAT ('indirect taxes'), it is already possible to prosecute individuals who make untrue statements or submit incorrect documents either knowingly or recklessly, without the need to prove dishonesty. The penalties for such offences can be severe, including substantial fines and imprisonment. The direct tax regime does not currently contain an equivalent offence.
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