The living wage is £7.65 an hour, or £8.80 in London. A report by independent body the Living Wage Commission last month suggested that over 5 million workers in the UK were paid less than the living wage, an increase of 9% on 2012.
A recent report by KPMG predicted that this would increase over the next six months.
Addressing an audience of business leaders and politicians as part of KPMG’s support of Fair Pay Fortnight, David Gardner, director of public policy at KPMG, stressed the company's support for the initiative.
"Fair pay isn’t just fair play," he said. "Offering staff and suppliers a living wage can improve engagement and help people earn enough to afford the basics.
"From a business perspective, evidence suggests it’s also good for productivity. At KPMG, for example, we have seen that becoming a Living Wage employer has helped improve retention and reduced recruitment, training and sickness costs amongst staff and contractors employed by our suppliers.”
Gardner added he hoped companies would use the fortnight as an opportunity to assess their own ability to pay staff a fair wage.
