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."
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