The businesses in Bexley that pay a ‘real’ living wage – higher than minimum wage

The Living Wage Foundation encourages employers to sign up to pay a "real" living wage, which is higher than the minimum wage and pegged to living costs.

The rate, which is calculated by a group of economists and applies to employees aged 18 and over, currently stands at £9.90 per hour across the UK and £11.05 in London, to reflect higher prices in the capital.

For comparison, the Government's living wage stands at £9.50 per hour for people aged 23 and over, and £9.18 for over 21s.

Figures shared with RADAR show there were 10 accredited real living wage employers in Bexley as of the start of July – up from seven at the same point last year and seven five years ago.

READ MORE: UK pubs warn of mass closures 'within months' amid rapidly increasing energy bills

The soaring cost of fuel, energy and food has put wages under the spotlight.

Below is a list of businesses in the Bexley area that are signed up to The Living Wage foundation:

Guardianship Services LTD

9 Kent House, Bexley, Kent, DA5 1LR

Guardianship Services Ltd provide a range of service, Commercial Cleaning,Security, property maintenance and associated service.

Hawkey Cleaning & Support Services

Unit 54-55, The Cooperage, Old Bexley Business Park, 19 Bourne Road, Bexley, Kent, DA5 1LR

Hawkey provides office cleaning services in London to a wide range of clients. From small to medium sized companies, right up to large multi-nationals.

Barclays Bank PLC - Bexley

14 Bexley High Street, Bexley, Kent, DA5 1AF

Bank that offers Current accounts, loans & savings

Nationwide Building Society - Bexleyheath

152/154 Broadway, Bexleyheath, DA6 7DW

World's largest building society

Lloyds Banking Group - Bexleyheath

130 The Broadway, Bexleyheath, Kent, DA6 7DP UK based Retail and Commercial Bank.

Lloyds Banking Group is the UK’s largest financial services group.

Santander UK - Bexleyheath

127, The Broadway, Bexleyheath, DA6 7HF

Santander offer current accounts, savings, mortgages, loans, credit cards and much more.

Barclays Bank PLC - Bexleyheath

6 Market Place, Bexleyheath, Kent, DA6 7DY

Apex Lifts

Arts House, Banks Lane, Bexleyheath, DA6 7BH

A family owned business with 50 years’ experience in the installation, repair and maintenance of lifts and escalators in and around London.

Evergreen Care Bexley

22 The Pantiles, Bexleyheath, DA7 5HD

Evergreen seeks to serve the older people in Bexley by improving their circumstances through advocacy, friendship, and practical support

Love Design Studio

26 Shakespeare Road, Bexleyheath, Kent, DA7 4SE Environmental consultants, designers, engineers, and technicians in the built environment.

Workers in some industries have gone on strike this summer, asking for a better deal from their employers.

Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said the cost-of-living crisis has made increasing wages for the low-paid "more important than ever".

She said paying the living wage is not only "the right thing to do for struggling workers and families, but it’s also good for businesses, with employers benefitting from greater staff morale and productivity, and reduced staff absenteeism and turnover".

The foundation announced in May that 10,000 employers had signed up to the scheme – covering nearly 350,000 workers, or around 1 in 13 employees in the UK.

As of July 1, there were 10,765 organisations paying the real living wage across the UK, up from 8,107 in 2021 and 3,383 in 2017.

Researchers at Cardiff University estimate this has provided an extra £1.8bn to low-paid staff.

Across London, there are 2,844 real living wage employers, an increase from 1075 in 2017.

Despite this, many UK workers are still on low pay.

The Office for National Statistics estimated that in April 2021 nearly 300,000 employees were paid below the Government's living or minimum wage, excluding those furloughed at the time, with service workers particularly likely to suffer low pay.

The latest estimates from the Bank of England suggest inflation could hit 13% in the fourth quarter of this year.

The Trades Union Congress, a federation of workers' groups, said recently that this would result in an unprecedented drop in pay in real terms, with wages expected to rise by 5.3% over the same period.

A spokesperson for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the Government is "determined to make work pay".

"We know the pressures people are facing with rising costs, which is why we have continually taken action to help households by phasing in £37 billion worth of support.

“In the long-term, we are committed to building a high skilled, high wage economy that delivers on our ambition to make the UK the best place in the world to work.”

Your Money Matters is a campaign launched by us and our sister titles across Newsquest to help you overcome the surge in the cost of living. This year has seen a whole host of household price increases — from the energy price cap rise to surging inflation and food prices — costing your family hundreds or even thousands of pounds extra per year. We’re making it our mission to look out for your cash, offering money-saving deals, competitions, giveaways and insightful stories from your community on the impact this cost-of-living crisis is having on our readers. The worldwide energy crisis exacerbated by the Ukraine invasion, the financial impact of the Covid pandemic, record inflation figures and a surge in the cost of goods, fuel and travel means we will all feel the pinch. Through our newspaper, we want to do what we can to help make your cash go further because we know your money matters.

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