An increased proportion of roles in the charity sector are not paid enough to cover basic living costs, according to new evaluation of Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.
Some 300,000 jobs (12.5%) at UK not-for-profit organisations are being paid less than the real living wage, according to the Living Wage Foundation’s analysis of ONS’s latest annual survey of hours and earnings.
This is an increase on the year before when 286,000 jobs in the sector (12%) were paid below the real living wage.
Set by the Living Wage Foundation, the voluntary real living wage is currently £13.45 an hour in the UK with a higher rate of £14.80 an hour in London.
It is higher than the government’s mandatory national living wage rate of £12.71 per hour for workers over 21 across the UK.
The proportion of low paid jobs in the charity sector has fallen overall in the last 10 years, from a high of 17.8% in 2018, but has increased since 2022, when it reached a low of 10%.
Levels of low pay in the sector remain lower than in the overall economy, in which the proportion of roles paid below the real living wage decreased from 15.7% to 14.6%.
The Living Wage Foundation’s analysis follows a recent report from CharityJob, which revealed that 34% of entry-level and junior charity jobs in London are paid less than the London living wage. Outside the capital, 33% of entry-level and junior charity jobs are paid less than the real living wage.
Grantmakers urged to fund well-paid roles
Graham Griffiths, director of the Living Wage Foundation, called on more charitable grantmakers to commit to funding posts paying the real living wage.
He said: “Charities are at the forefront of tackling poverty, disadvantage and injustice in our society, so it's troubling that rates of low pay in the sector have continued to increase, leading to charity workers themselves experiencing in-work poverty.”
“The evidence is clear: when charities pay the real living wage, it not only benefits workers, but also improves retention and recruitment, and helps to secure funding and investment.
“In a challenging financial context, the commitment of living wage funders in supporting grantees to pay the real living wage has never been more important.”
Eli Manderson Evans, chief executive of the Blagrave Trust, said: “We recognise that many of our grant partners are facing higher competition for income, alongside higher demand for services
“We became a living wage funder because we believe that young people’s skills and expertise shouldn’t be undervalued.
“We encourage other funders to consider becoming living wage funders themselves and to support grant partners to pay all their staff enough to realistically live on.
“This is particularly important if we want a charity sector where lived experience is valued, and where young people from all backgrounds can enter, and stay, in the sector.”
