Between March 2020, when COVID-19 began to hit the UK economy, and June 2021, 2,366 employers were recruited to the Living Wage standard. These employers included major corporations, such as BP, Compass, Danone, Johnson Matthey, Severn Trent, Talk Talk, Tate and Lyle, and Zurich Insurance, together with leading public service organizations such as the Universities of Bangor, Cambridge, and Swansea, several local authorities, and NHS Boards and Trusts. Despite the pandemic, therefore, the Living Wage campaign has continued to register success in recruiting employers. Over the same period, 600 employers withdrew from the scheme. Continued success in recruitment, therefore, has been balanced by some erosion of support though it is notable that those joining the scheme outnumber those leaving almost by a factor of four and that, notwithstanding the pandemic, the Living Wage has continued to spread across the UK economy.
You can read further evidence of on the impact of COVID-19 on Living Wage recruitment and withdrawal in this short report from Cardiff Business School:
From speaking to our accredited employers, it was becoming clear that recruitment in some sectors was a big issue for them in the economic recovery from COVID-19. In response, we set up our Living Wage Jobs page which helps employers to advertise vacancies and job seekers to pin-point jobs that pay a Real Living Wage in Wales.
