More than 20,000 Welsh workers set for pay rise

Over 20,400 people in Wales are set for a vital cost-of-living pay boost. From today the real Living Wage rates rise to £12.60 an hour across the UK (a 60p, or 5%, increase) - although employers have until May 1 2025 to implement the increase.

Recent research by the Living Wage Foundation shows that despite inflation easing, many of Britain’s 3.7m low paid workers are still struggling with the impact of years of high prices, with 42% having less than £10 left each week after covering essential expenses, 39% having used a food bank in the past year and 28% using one at least once a month. The real Living Wage is different to the UK Government’s minimum wage rate, which for those over the age of 21 is often called the National Living Wage.



It is a higher, voluntary rate that is independently calculated based solely on the actual cost of living. READ MORE: The important norovirus tip as cases of 'winter vomiting bug' are on the rise READ MORE: Attraction to close until 2026 for massive £21m revamp The UK Government’s rate is the legal minimum businesses are required to pay by law. The real Living Wage applies to all workers over the age of 18 working for a Living Wage Employer and is now £12.

60 an hour. The National Living Wage applies to those over the age of 21 and is worth £11.44 an hour.

A full-time worker earning the new, real Living Wage would earn £2,262 a year more than a worker earning the current government minimum, and £1,170 more than their current pay. Despite the economic challenges, in the past three years record numbers of employers have signed up to pay the real Living Wage, including to their third-party contractors like cleaners and security guards, with one in nine employees now working for an accredited Living Wage Employer. Jack Sargeant, Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership said: “The Real Living Wage makes a real difference to the lives and livelihoods of thousands of workers in Wales.

It is a key baseline in providing workers with greater financial security and in helping to create fairer work. “We would urge and encourage employers across Wales to commit to paying their workers at least the Real Living Wage and to become accredited for doing so. We will continue to work with the living wage movement, employers and with trade unions to promote the Real Living Wage for all.

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