Half a million workers get a pay rise worth over £1,250 a year as Real Living Wage rises to £14.10

The voluntary Real Living Wage has increased to £14.10 an hour across the UK and £15.45 in London — a 65p rise — adding £1,250 a year to the pay of close to 500,000 workers whose employers, numbering nearly 17,000, have signed up to the scheme. Full-time employees on the new rate take home more than £2,700 annually compared with those on the government's statutory floor of £12.71 for over-21s. The announcement coincides with the campaign's 25th anniversary, during which it has delivered nearly £5 billion in additional pay to low-paid workers. Accredited employers include IKEA, Uniqlo, Lush and Everton FC.

London workers benefit further still, earning more than £5,300 a year above the statutory minimum — a gap sufficient to meet food bills for 16 months.

The Living Wage Foundation says millions of workers remain stuck in in-work poverty, with 61% of low-paid workers having reduced spending on food or gone without adequate heating over the past year.