UK reward metrics · Pay

What is UK organisations' position on the real Living Wage (RLW)?

Source lumi HRBase 263 organisationsFieldwork 2026 H1

37.3%At/above RLW – not accredited

37.3% of organisations in the lumi HR community answered “At/above RLW – not accredited” on real Living Wage position (base: 263 UK organisations, 2026 H1).

Figures describe organisations in the lumi HR community, not a random sample of UK employers.

How UK organisations answered

Not paying the RLW (below the rate) 34.2% At/above RLW – not accredited 37.3% At/above RLW – accreditation in progre 4.6% At/above RLW – accredited 24%
Real Living Wage position (base: 263 organisations, 2026 H1). Percentages percentages may not sum to 100 because of rounding.
Real Living Wage position: share of organisations by answer
AnswerShare of organisations
Not paying the RLW (below the rate)alternative34.2%
At/above RLW – not accreditedcommon37.3%
At/above RLW – accreditation in progressrare4.6%
At/above RLW – accreditedalternative24%

Common, alternative and rare describe how each answer sits against the community: the most chosen answer is common; an answer chosen by fewer than one in five organisations is rare.

Definition

The organisation's position on the real Living Wage: whether it pays at or above the rate, and whether that is formally accredited. See the methodology for how the base is built, how not-applicable answers are handled, the public floor, and which organisations are excluded.

Cite this figure
Source: lumi HR, UK Reward Metrics, September 2026, lumihr.co.uk/metrics/real-living-wage-position
Last updated 19 September 2026 · Data licence: CC BY 4.0 for the figures in the CSV download.

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