Real living wage will rise to £13.45 an hour for half a million workers

Almost half a million workers are to receive a pay boost after it was announced that the real living wage paid voluntarily by 16,000 companies will rise to £13.45 an hour in April.

- Heather Stewart

Distinct from the national living wage, which is a statutory minimum, the real living wage is calculated each year based on the cost of essentials, and is paid by more than half of the companies in the FTSE100.

The real living wage will rise to £13.45 an hour nationwide from April - an increase of 85p an hour, or 6.7%. In London, it will go up 95p, or 6.9%, to £14.80 an hour.