Joshua Cottell

Map of London highlighting five outer London boroughs—Redbridge, Bexley, Barking & Dagenham, Harrow, and Enfield—in red, indicating they have the highest proportion of low-paid jobs in the UK. Accompanied by text emphasizing that all five are in outer London. Data from Living Wage Foundation 2025.

The five local authorities in the UK with the highest proportion of low-paid jobs are all in outer London.

Redbridge, Bexley, Barking & D'ham, Harrow & Enfield have the highest % of jobs paid below the real Living Wage in the country.

In each of these boroughs, around 1 in 3 jobs are low-paid.

Did you know that if just a quarter of low-paid workers were paid a real Living Wage (£12.60 PH in the UK or £13.85 in London) it could boost the UK economy by £1.2 billion!? 🤯

Reshare if you think that paying the Living Wage is the way forward

🔗Learn more: livingwage.org.uk/news/largest...

Employee Jobs Paid Below the Real Living Wage 2024

Read all our analysis in our report out today, authored by my brilliant colleague Klervi Mignon: www.livingwage.org.uk/employee-job...

In some industries, an alarmingly high number of jobs are paid below the Living Wage. For instance, in hotels and restaurants over half of workers (53.6%) are low paid by this definition.

Women were nearly 50% more likely to be low paid than men, with 18.7% of jobs held by women being paid below the real Living Wage, compared to 12.6% of jobs held by men.

Some areas see a higher concentration of jobs below the Living Wage rate.

For instance Northern Ireland (20.6% of jobs), the North East (19.2%) and the East Midlands (18.8%).

Why does this matter? The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate calculated based on the cost of a minimum acceptable living standard.

Updated annually, it’s currently £12 across the UK and £13.15 in London.

With nearly all jobs in the UK paying at least 2/3 the average hourly rate, is low pay a thing of the past?

Unfortunately not. 15.7% of employee jobs in the UK (4.5 million jobs) were paid below the real Living Wage in April 2024. That's 800,000 more jobs than a year earlier.

This morning’s labour market data show the jobs market continuing to cool at the end of 2024, but this isn’t yet feeding through into pay growth, which remains surprisingly strong. Here is our summary thread (from me and @louisemurphy.bsky.social )

Why you should all care about inequality • Resolution Foundation Afternoon all. Well, it’s been a blast, but all good things come to an end. Next Monday will see two major handovers: Donald Trump takes over in the White House, and, at RF Towers, we will welcome Rut...

Why we all need to care about inequality

@mikebrewerecon.bsky.social signs out of the CEO chair at @resfoundation.bsky.social by briefing you all on his favourite subject www.resolutionfoundation.org/comment/why-...

Hello!👋 We're delighted to announce that the Living Wage Foundation have officially joined Bluesky. Keep your eyes peeled for more from us in the new year!

People in low-to-middle-income families largely want the same things from work as those from higher-income families – but do they achieve it?

Our new @resfoundation.bsky.social report, with @nyecominetti.bsky.social, explores the labour market experiences of low-to-middle income workers...

Chuffed to have had our recent research on the reality of working at night featured in this week's Top of the Charts!

Only disappointed that I didn't think up the phrase "dark drudgery" for the report title...

A report cover titled "Stemming the Tide: Healthier Jobs to Tackle Economic Inactivity." Authored by Asli Atay, Rebecca Florisson, George D. Williams, Alice Martin, and Stavroula Leka. Published in December 2024. The background is teal with a wave-like design in lighter green at the bottom. The top right corner features the Work Foundation logo, and the bottom left corner includes the logos for the Centre for Organisational Health & Well-Being and Lancaster University.

Our report on tackling economic inactivity is finally out and it’s one we’ve been working on for a while.🥳

The key takeaway? Flexibility, autonomy, and support during the first year after ill health onset are game changers for keeping people in work.

A ~long~ thread to unpack our key findings🧵

This speaks to today's report from the Work Foundation exploring the linkages between job quality and ill health (link below), as well as our findings for the @irhws.bsky.social project about the need for inclusive flexible working models to retain people with disabilities/ill health in employment.

Nearly 1.4 million people usually work in the evening or at night in London – one in four of London's workers.

The Living Wage Foundation's new research finds that night time workers are more likely to be low paid, and more likely to be in insecure work 👇

Labour Force Survey numbers have seen a small update today, increasing population estimates while not making much difference to employment rates. But last week's migration numbers – which won't be reflected until 2025 – reduce our rate estimate by adding an extra ~340,000 to the adult population.

Is wealth inequality bad for growth?

Will Snell, Chief Executive @fairness.bsky.social, argues that it is 👇

📣New @jrf-uk.bsky.social research on ethnicity and persistent very deep poverty*.

Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Black African families are 5x more like to experience it than white families.

We wanted to dig into the reasons…

London's night time economy is worth tens of billions in economic output each year. So it's important for London's economy and culture that the people working in it have a decent job.

We found that more than 200,000 who work at night in London are paid less than the real Living Wage.

Despite stable wealth inequality, assets now play a bigger role in life chances.

Why? Asset prices have soared, and the older have become wealthier while the young have become less.

These growing gaps create larger differences in opportunity, with inheritances a third bigger than 20 years ago.

📢New research! Our report for the Commission for #HealthierWorkingLives, supported by
@healthfoundation.bsky.social reveals that poor job quality threatens the health of the UK workforce with 1.7 million people reporting work-related ill health in the last year. Read: bit.ly/3CH4uYB 1/

For more, check out the full report: www.livingwage.org.uk/london-after...

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Offering better pay and security of hours, alongside improvements in transport and safety, could let more of those pulling the night shift access a job that works for them.

Around 1 in 4 people who work in London usually work in the evening or at night, a figure that hasn’t changed much. Night time work isn’t going anywhere.

Certain demographics are more likely to work at night, and thus more exposed to the low pay and insecurity that currently comes with it.

Trying to plan childcare, social activities, or just time with the family is made difficult by short notice for shifts.

69% of those with variable hours told us they sometimes get less than a week’s notice.

This means uncertainty about when people will work or how much they’ll get paid.

57% of people who work at night in London agreed that they often have to work on short notice, while 49% said that they have little say over when they do or do not work at night.

Given the vital role of night time work in London's economy and culture, it's concerning to find that many workers experience low pay and job insecurity.

People who work at night are twice as likely as others to be in an insecure job.

London After Dark: The Reality of Working at Night in the Capital

This week we’ve published new research at the Living Wage Foundation, diving into the reality of working at night in London for the 1.4 million people who do so.

Read on to find out what work is like for those on the night shift (spoiler: it's often insecure and low paid)...🧵

Great opportunity going at the Living Wage Foundation! Please take a look, share or consider applying.