Living Wage NI
Living Wage NI, funded by the Living Wage Foundation and the Department for the Economy, aims to increase awareness of the real living wage and uptake of Living Wage accreditation among employers across Northern Ireland.
The real Living Wage movement began as a grassroots campaign in East London in 2001 with the aim of ensuring a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work. There are now 14,000 employers signed up with the Living Wage Foundation as Living Wage employers across the UK which has delivered almost half a million pay rises.
What is the real Living Wage?
The real Living Wage, as opposed to the National Living Wage, is independently calculated by the Resolution Foundation for the Living Wage Foundation and is based on what people need to get by. It also differs from the National Living Wage in that it is paid to everyone 18 and above.
It is currently £13.45 per hour across the UK and £14.80 in London.
Signing up as a living wage employer is voluntary and means paying all directly and indirectly employed staff a living wage.
Celebrating 25 Years of the Real Living Wage Campaign
We recently hosted an event as part of the Imagine Belfast Festival with speakers including Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald, Mary McManus from Living Wage NI, Living Wage Campaigners Bernie Harris and Paul Regan, and Living Wage employers and employee's from Northern Ireland.
Speaking at the Imagine Belfast Festival, Dr Caoimhe Archibald said:
“I want to commend Advice NI and Living Wage NI for their continued leadership in promoting the Real Living Wage. These 212 employers collectively provide over 5,000 pay uplifts every year, demonstrating the impact of the movement on workers and households.
“It is encouraging to see so many employers stepping forward to ensure their staff are paid a wage that better reflects the cost of living. This uplift in accreditation shows real progress toward our ambition of creating more Good Jobs across the economy.”
Latest news from Living Wage NI
Living Wage NI on BBC Radio Ulster
What role has 'The Living Wage' had in raising people out of poverty?
Over 200 Employers in Northern Ireland Now Accredited as Real Living Wage Employers
Northern Ireland has the second highest rate of employees paid below the Living Wage.
New Year, New Commitment: Why 2026 Should Be the Year You Join the Living Wage Movement
As we step into a new year, there’s a sense of possibility and renewal. For employers across Northern Ireland, 2026 offers an opportunity to make a powerful commitment—one that transforms lives, strengthens businesses, and builds a fairer society.
Listen - Real Living Wage Podcast
Mary McManus, Regional Manager for Living Wage NI, and Elaine Clarke, Director of Employment Relations Services at the Labour Relations Agency, talk about what the Real Wage standard is, where it came from and the challenges and benefits for employers of signing up.
Real Living Wage Rises to £13.45
More than 5,000 people working for nearly 200 real Living Wage Employers in Northern Ireland are set for a vital pay boost, as the real Living Wage rates rise to £13.45 an hour across the UK (85p increase).
Belfast Chamber becomes accredited as a Living Wage Employer
Their Living Wage commitment will see all employees receive a minimum hourly wage of £12.60 in the UK, higher than the government minimum for over 21s, which currently stands at £12.21 per hour.
A Real Living Wage and Good Jobs for NI Care Workers
In May 2025 Living Wage NI hosted a successful round table meeting to look at what has worked well from a policy perspective in Scotland and Wales.
Real Living Wage increases to £12.60 in Northern Ireland
Almost half a million people, including over 4,200 in NI, working for more than 15,000 real Living Wage Employers throughout the UK are set for a vital cost-of-living pay boost, as the real Living Wage rates rise to £12.60 an hour across the UK (60p or 5% increase).
IN2 Engineering Ltd has accredited as a Living Wage Employer
IN2 is a progressive engineering consultancy with offices in Belfast, Dublin, Athlone, Berlin and London who have recently become part of the NI Living Wage network.
Real Living Wage: Northern Ireland lagging behind rest of UK - BBC News
BBC news article on the Real Living Wage in Northern Ireland.
The real Living Wage in Northern Ireland
In NI, 165 businesses and organisations are signed up as Living Wage employers compared with over 3,700 in Scotland and 591 in Wales.
Advice NI, through our work as the regional Independent Advice Network, has a keen awareness of in-work poverty and the need to take a more holistic and upstream approach to tackling it. In 2021, we signed up as a Living Wage employer and encouraged our network to do the same through the publication of our report, It’s the Local Economy Stupid.
Our policy manifesto calls for the adoption of Community Wealth Building as a viable model for addressing poverty as well as climate change. It also advocates for the roll out of the Living Wage in NI to ensure income adequacy.
In 2022, we began discussions with the Living Wage Foundation on how this could become a reality. In order not to lose the momentum of the Living Wage for East Belfast Campaign, the Living Wage Foundation agreed that Advice NI would be their preferred partner in Northern Ireland and agreed to fund us to provide advocacy on a regional basis.
Becoming a Living Wage Employer
Paying the real Living wage has several benefits for both employers and employee's. This includes:
- Better employee retention
- Increased productivity
- Improved employee relations
- Enhanced employer reputation
The video below from the Living Wage Foundation explains how to become a Living Wage Employer.
If you want to find out more about becoming a Living Wage employer, complete the application form on the Living Wage Foundation's website.