The pay rise will be based on an independent calculation of what employees and their families need to live, taking into account the cost of accommodation, travel, healthy food, holidays and little extras like birthday presents.

Not to be confused with the compulsory National Living Wage (introduced by the Government in April 2016 at £7.20 per hour), the new voluntary Living Wage rates announced by the Living Wage Foundation this week will be £9.75 per hour for staff in London and £8.45 per hour in the rest of the UK.

The new rates have been announced on the first day of Living Wage week, during which the Living Wage Foundation and its supporters, like the CIPD, will be celebrating the achievements of the Living Wage movement. It’s estimated that around one in five working people earn less than the Living Wage, so we’ll be helping to raise awareness of the tangible difference it can make to working lives and encouraging those employers who can afford to pay it, to do so.