Employees of businesses signed up to the real living wage are due to get a pay rise a month before Christmas.

Currently, the government's national living wage is set at £8.21 for workers aged 25 years or older.

But thousands of companies across the UK have signed up the real living wage, set by the Living Wage Foundation.

On Monday, the minimum hourly rate paid by those businesses rose by 30p to £9.30 in the UK, and by 20p to £10.75 in London.

Nearly 6,000 UK businesses currently pay the voluntary real Living Wage rate - more than 200 of which are headquartered in Wales.

According to the Living Wage Foundation, more than £32,187,495 in extra wages has gone into workers' pockets in Wales since 2011, benefitting almost 7,000 employees.

The charity said the difference between its own living wage and the government minimum amounts to more than £2,000 a year nationally.

And the foundation said Cardiff is on track to become the first "living wage city" as a result of a three-year partnership between the council and businesses aiming to double the number of accredited living wage employers in the city.

What is the real living wage?

The Living Wage Foundation is a charity that encourages businesses to sign up to voluntarily minimum wage rate calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK and in London, where the cost of living is much higher.

The UK Government's National Living Wage is currently set at £7.70 for workers aged 21 and older, and £8.21 for over 25s.

The real living wage applies to all workers over 18, and from Monday, November 11, rose to £9.30 per hour nationally and £10.75 in London.

The current minimum wage in the UK

Age

Current rate

25 and over

£8.21

21 to 24

£7.70

18 to 20

£6.15

Under 18

£4.35

Apprentice*

£3.90

Nearly 6,000 employers have signed up to offter the real living wage, including over a third of FTSE 100 and other major UK brands such as Burberry, Nationwide, Lush, Everton Football Club, Heathrow Airport and Oxfam.

Welsh employers who have already signed up include Burns Pet Food, Brecon Carreg, University of Wales Trinity St David, Cardiff City Council, Cardiff University and many more.

The Living Foundation has credited Cardiff for its ambitious plans to become a living wage city.

The plan was put together by a steering group chaired by the leader of Cardiff City Council with senior representatives from civil society and local employers, and by 2022 it aims to increase the number of accredited living wage employers based in the capital from 100 to 150, increase the number of job roles protected by accredited living wage employers to 48,000 (currently around 27,250), and encourage iconic employers in Cardiff to become accredited living wage employers.

Professor Rachel Ashworth, dean of Cardiff University Business School and chair of the Living Wage for Wales leadership team, said: "We are delighted that Cardiff has been recognised for its plans to become a living wage city’ – and it is testament to the hard work and commitment of Cardiff Council and the team of employers, including my own, who helped to devise the application that we are leading the way."

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All the employers headquartered in Wales currently offering the real living wage

1st Grade Care Ltd

2buy2.com

2Can Productions

4The Community

Abeko

Aber Food Surplus

Aberystwyth University

Aberystwyth University Student's Union

Action in Caerau and Ely

Afellen

Allied Church in Prestatyn

Allied Mechanical Engineering Ltd

AML Scaffolding

Antioch Christian Centre

Arts Connection - Cyswllt Celf

Atamis Ltd

Awesome Wales Enterprises CIC

Aytel Systems Ltd

Barod Community Interest Company

Barry Town Council

BAVO

Bay Resourcing Teaching Agency

Bebbington & Wilson Ltd

Beelzebub Bars Ltd

Bevan Foundation

Big Wheelers (South Wales) Ltd

Bigmoose Coffee Company

Bomper Studio

BrandContent

Brecon Mineral Water

Brecon Town Council

Brighter Futures

Brightlink Learning

Brynhyfryd Dental

Burns Pet Nutrition Ltd

Burt Boulton & Haywood Ltd

CAD Development Trust

Calibre Contracting Ltd

Cambria Maintenance Services Ltd

Cambrian Training Company Ltd

Canda Copying Ltd

Capacity Marketing for Charities

Capital Law Ltd

Cardiff & Vale Credit Union

Cardiff Bus

Cardiff City FC Foundation

Cardiff Community Housing

Cardiff City Council

Cardiff People First

Cardiff Third Sector Council

Cardiff University

Cardiff Women's Aid

Carmarthen Town Council

Castell Ventures Ltd

Celtic English Academy

Children's Commissioner for Wales

Citizen's Advice

Coastal Housing Group

Coleg Cambria

Community & Voluntary Support Conwy

Community Foundation Wales

Complete Cleaning Group Ltd

Copa Data UK

Cosmetics Made Easy

Crimewatch Alarms Ltd

Crunch Simply Digital

Catapult Compound Semiconductor Applications

Sustain Wales

Cynon Taf Community Housing Ltd

Darwin Gray LLP Datblygiadau Egni Gwledig (DEG)

Decor-Lam Ltd

Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council

Deryn Consulting

Development Trusts Association Wales

Disability Advice Project

Disclosure Services

Diverse Cymru

Dragonsavers Credit Union

DRB Group Ltd

Dutton Jones Associates Ltd

Welsh Water

Educ8 Ltd

Encon Construction Ltd

Equal Education

Equity Solutions Ltd

Ethnic Youth Support Team

Expanding Horizons

Firing Line: Museum of the Welsh Soldier

First Choice Housing Association

FOR Cardiff

Freshwater UK Plc

Future Generations Commissioner for Wales

g39

Gibson Specialist Technical Services

Giles Brown Ltd

Glamorgan Voluntary Services

Glanmore Developments Ltd

Glan Cleaning Services Ltd

Go Panda Removals

Grasshopper Communications Ltd

Llyn Gwynant Campsire

Careers Wales

Higher Education Funding Council for Wales

Horan Construction Ltd

Huggard

iCOM Works Ltd

Institute of Welsh Affairs

Interlink RCT

Invest Local Trust

IOTS (UK) Ltd

ITEC Training JustIngredients

K9 Protection Ltd

Kaleidoscope Project

Keep Wales Tidy

KGJ PRice (Railway Contractors) Ltd

Knox & Wells Ltd

Kyle Morgan Trasport Ltd

Lansdowne Surgery

Lawray Architects

Level Marketing Ltd

Ibra Energy & Estates Ltd

Like an Egg Productions

Liquitherm Techonologies Group Ltd

Llandeilo Dental Practice

Llesiant Delta Wellbeing Ltd

Llew Jones International

LUNA Organic Beauty Boutique

MedEvent Health Care Ltd

Media Academy Cardiff

Meithrinfa Y Pelican

Melin Homes

Merthyr Valleys Homes

Method4

Mind Monmouthshire

Morganstone

MPCT

My Care My Home

National Assembly for Wales

Neath Town Council

Newsdirect Wales

Newydd Housing Association

North Wales Holiday Cottages

Nu Instruments Ltd

Older People's Commissioner for Wales

Oprema Ltd

Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund CIC

People and Work

PHG Consulting Engineers Ltd

Plaid Cymru

Plas Property Management Ltd

Portal Training Ltd

Premier Leisure Parks

ProAdventure Ltd

Production 78

ProMo Cymru Trading Ltd

Properr

PRP Training Ltd

Quality Cottages

RM Labels Ltd

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales

Royal College of Surgeons

Read Construction Holdings Ltd

Red Dragon Flagmakers

Rhondda Housing Association

Rhosneigr Holiday Lettings

Rockwool Ltd

RT Contractors

Safer Wales

SEMS Medical Services LTD

SImon Wyatt Financial Planning

Size of Wales

Solon Security Ltd

South Wales Police and Crime Commission

St Davids Penisula Group

Swansea Music Art Digital

Swyddle

Taff Housing Association

Tan Y Maen Wellbeing Centre

Technovent

TGP Cymru

The Bottle Shop

The Cardiff Window Cleaning Company Ltd

The Digital Accessibility Centre

The Friendly Trust

The Marine & Property Group Ltd

The Orchard Media and Events Group

The Private Phototherapy Clinic ClearSkin

The Speakeasy Law Centre

The Tiny Pub Company Ltd

ThirdSpace Ltd

Toogoodtowaste

Town Square Spaces Ltd

TPAS Cymru Ltd

Transport for Wales

UNA Exchange

United Reformed Church Nation Synod of Wales

University of South Wales

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Urban Foundry

Valleys to Coast Housing Ltd

Vanda Coatings

Voluntary Arts

Wales & West Housing

Wales Co-operative Centre

Wales Restorative Approaches Partnership

Warm Wales

Wales Council for Voluntary Action

Welsh Centre for International Affairs

Welsh Government

West Wales Holiday Cottages

Wild Thing Cardiff

Wrexham Glyndwr University

Xander Kostroma Fashion Ltd

Your Call Ltd

Youth Cymru

For the full UK list visit: https://www.livingwage.org.uk/accredited-living-wage-employers