Celebrating 25 Years of the Living Wage Campaign: With 1 in 6 jobs paid below the Living Wage in Northern Ireland Fair Pay Matters More Than Ever

Mary McManus is the Regional Manager for Living Wage NI

In 2001, in the City of London, faith leaders, union members and teachers staged a bold action in a major bank to demand a real Living Wage. That spark ignited a grassroots movement which, 25 years on, has created real change for workers across the UK. Over 16,000 employers across the UK now commit to the real Living Wage, returning £4.2 billion to low‑paid workers, delivering nearly half a million pay rises, and helping lift minimum wage rates.

The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate independently calculated based on the cost of living, ensuring that workers receive a fair wage that meets their everyday needs. Currently it is, £13.45 per hour across the UK and £14.80 per hour in London, significantly higher than the government’s National Living Wage of £12.21, which applies only to workers aged 21 and over. It tackles in-work poverty and ensures that workers earn enough to participate fully in society.

In 2024, Advice NI launched Living Wage NI in partnership with the Living Wage Foundation and the Department for the Economy. Despite Northern Ireland consistently having one of the highest rates of jobs paid below the real Living Wage, until 2024 it had been the only region in the UK without a local body promoting the real Living Wage and accrediting employers. The first employer to accredit in Northern Ireland was the Quaker Service in 2013. We now have a diverse network of 211 Living Wage Employers in NI, with two thirds having signed up since Living Wage NI launched.

The latest analysis of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) Data shows that Northern Ireland at 1 in 6, Northern Ireland has the second highest rate of jobs paid below the Living Wage in the UK. With research showing that those paid below the real Living Wage are struggling to buy food, pay household bills and heat their homes, it is vital that more employers sign up to pay their employees at least the real Living Wage.

However, the benefits of paying the real Living Wage extend beyond employees. Despite a challenging economic climate, 2300 employers across the UK signed up in 2025 alone. Employers have reported improvements in recruitment, retention, and reputation, with 94% of Living Wage employers noting business benefits from their accreditation, according to research by Cardiff Business School. In our experience of working with local employers, they recognise that their people are their greatest asset, and they want to ensure they are paid a fair wage. The accreditation is a means to demonstrate their commitment to their staff and their core values.

The real Living Wage is also good for society. If 50% percent of workers in NI were uplifted to the RLW it would contribute £56 million to the local economy. We know that low-paid workers spend more of their cash in their local economies, an increase in their spending power will benefit local firms too.

Living Wage NI is funded by the Department for the Economy and is key to one of the Minister’s four priorities for a new Economic Mission, Good Jobs. Since June 2022, businesses tendering to the NI Executive must ensure that their workers are paid a Living Wage. With public sector organisations like the NI Executive, the two Universities and Belfast City Council accrediting as Living Wage employers, more and more winning public sector contracts is becoming dependent on paying the real Living Wage.

The Living Wage is good for business, good for workers and good for society. Join the growing Living Wage NI movement and together let’s make NI a Living Wage region.

You can find out more about accrediting as a real Living Wage Employer and joining the growing NI Living Wage Movement here.

You can also find out more by joining us at the Imagine Festival of Ideas and Politics to celebrate 25 years of the Living Wage Campaign on the 25^th of March @10.30am in Ormeau Labs. Tickets available here.