Record high inflation combined with low wages is hitting Britain’s 4.8m low paid workers harder than anything they have faced before, including the Covid-19 pandemic, new research by the Living Wage Foundation reveals.
Polling of over 2,000 workers earning less than the real Living Wage, by the Living Wage Foundation and Survation, found 78% of low-paid workers say this is the worst financial period they have ever faced. The situation is so bad that over half (56%), an estimated 2.7 million workers, report using a foodbank in the last 12 months, with 63% of low-paid workers using foodbanks, an estimated 1.7 million people, saying their use had increased in this time.
The polling also reveals a rapid increase in hardship amongst Britain’s low-paid workers during the cost-of-living crisis.
Almost half of low-paid workers (42%), 2 million workers nationally, are now regularly skipping meals due to financial reasons, up ten percentage points since January 2022 alone.
Nearly a third (32%), 1.5m workers nationally, report being unable to heat their homes due to financial reasons, up nine percentage points since January. Almost a quarter (24%), 1.2m workers nationally, had to take out a payday loan to cover essentials, up seven percentage points since January.
The news comes a week before the Living Wage Foundation announces new Living Wage rates for the year 2022-23, which will reflect increasing living costs.
In a sign of how insufficient their pay is in meeting rapidly increasing living costs, over a quarter of low paid workers have no money left at the end of the week after paying for essentials. Nearly half have less than £10 left over, and two thirds have less than £20.
The increasingly dire financial situation facing low paid workers is also significantly impacting their quality of life.
Over two thirds of low paid workers now report low pay negatively affecting their levels of anxiety and overall quality of life (both 69%, up from 43% and 42% in January respectively).
The data suggests women are being more negatively affected by low pay than men, with 75% of low paid women reporting that low pay negatively affects their levels of anxiety, compared to 65% of low paid men. Similarly, 72% of low paid women said their overall quality of life is negatively impacted by low pay, compared to 66% of low paid men
Katherine Chapman, Director of the Living Wage Foundation said:
“Everyone is feeling the pressure from soaring inflation, but our polling shows that low-paid workers are being hit harder than most with well over half using foodbanks in the last 12 months. These shocking findings bring to life what it’s like to be paid less than a real Living Wage during a cost-of-living-crisis. It’s more important than ever that those employers who can, step up and provide a wage based on the cost of living, joining over 11,000 Living Wage Employers across the UK.”
