Large firms in industries such as construction, banking and computing can afford to pay well above the national minimum wage, a new report argues.
Two think tanks said more than six million people earned below the living wage, which is set at £8.30 an hour in London and £7.20 elsewhere, compared with the statutory rate of £6.08.
The Resolution Foundation and the IPPR said big companies in many sectors of the economy would only face a 1 per cent increase or less in their pay bill if they switched to a living wage. More than 600,000 people worked for less than the living wage in banking, finance, insurance and real estate, another 600,000 in manufacturing, 260,000 in transport and... read more