The Living Wage is a voluntary wage rate set by the Resolution Foundation based upon the price of consumer goods and naturally reflects actual inflationary costs in the rate set each year.
Many employers pledge to track the Living Wage rather than the National Minimum Wage to help ensure they are paying better value rates of pay to their employees, based upon the actual costs of living.
The Resolution Foundation has, as of 22 September 2022, increased the rate by 10.1% in the UK and 8.1% in London.
The new UK rate is £10.91 p/h (£11.95 in London) compared to the National Minimum Wage presently set at £9.50 p/h (likely due an increase in 2023).
The Living Wage increase is now brought forward by the Resolution Foundation due to the pressure on the cost of living caused by inflation this year.
The foundation has urged employers to increase to the new rates as soon as possible but at least by May 2023.