More employers in York are being urged to pay their staff the Real Living Wage.

York businesses and City of York Council are sharing the benefits of the voluntary hourly wage rate to employers, employees and customers as part of Living Wage Week, which runs until November 11.

The Real Living Wage is a voluntary hourly rate that employers can choose to pay their staff.

Calculated every year by campaigners Living Wage Foundation, it is based on the ability to pay for a ‘basket’ of household goods and services.

It increased in October to £12 per hour and is paid by more than 14,000 businesses in the UK.

Figures from the council said York currently has 150 businesses paying staff the real living wage - this includes 96 Good Business Charter (GBC) accredited businesses, and 54 who are accredited by the Living Wage Foundation but are not GBC members.

The Good Business Charter is a simple accreditation which organisations of all sizes in the UK can apply for in recognition of responsible business practices. 

The Press reported in October that the statutory National Living Wage stood at £10.42 per hour for employees over 23 years of age.

Sue Williamson, founder of Tang Hall SMART CIC, a community music and art company in Mossdale Avenue and Eldon Street, said: “The Real Living Wage has provided our staff with the security that they can work in a community arts and cultural organisation and still attain a reasonable standard of living.

“The extra cost of paying the real living wage has been more than paid off in the increase in staff wellbeing and loyalty.”

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According to campaigners Living Wage Foundation, 94 per cent of living wage businesses reported seeing clear benefits to their business since they started to pay the Real Leaving Wage, with 62 per cent saying that they had seen improvements in the quality of applications for jobs.

It also said 90 per cent of consumers were more likely to buy a product or service from a business or service that paid staff this amount.

City of York Council said that the proportion of York businesses which pay employees a Real Living Wage is significantly higher than that of other cities in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Cllr Claire Douglas, leader of the council said: “This Living Wage Week, I’d like to congratulate and thank York businesses and organisations of all sizes paying staff the Real Living Wage, as well as those currently working towards this goal.

“It’s fantastic to see that York has a higher proportion of Living Wage employers when compared to other parts of the region and we hope more can join this movement."

The council has been a Living Wage employer since 2013 and signed up to the GBC in 2021.

It has published its list of Real Living Wage employers as part of the GBC in York here.