ERFPA calls for more employers to become accredited Real Living Wage employers
The East Riding Food Poverty Alliance (ERFPA) is calling on employers across the region to commit to paying the Real Living Wage, a move that could help reduce in-work poverty, improve household finances and lessen reliance on food banks.
While employment remains the most effective route out of poverty, many working households continue to struggle with rising living costs. Across the UK, thousands of people are in work but still rely on food banks and emergency support to make ends meet.
The Real Living Wage, set independently by the Living Wage Foundation, is based on the actual cost of living rather than the legal minimum wage. It aims to ensure workers can afford essentials such as food, housing, energy bills and transport.
What Difference Could the Real Living Wage Make?
The current UK Real Living Wage is higher than the statutory minimum wage and is designed to reflect what people need to live on rather than simply survive. Research by Cardiff Business School found that the Living Wage movement has delivered more than £3.8 billion in additional earnings to low-paid workers since 2011, with over half a million workers benefiting from pay increases.
For many families, a higher hourly wage can mean:
- Greater financial security
- Reduced debt and arrears
- Improved physical and mental wellbeing
- Less reliance on food banks and crisis support
- More money spent in local communities
Recent research has also highlighted the link between low pay and food insecurity, with many low-paid workers reporting that they have used food banks during periods of financial hardship.
Living Hours Could Help Reduce Poverty in East Riding
Alongside the Real Living Wage, ERFPA is encouraging employers to adopt the Living Hours standard, which provides workers with more secure and predictable working hours.
This is particularly important in East Riding, where many jobs in agriculture, food production, tourism and hospitality are seasonal. Workers can often face fluctuating hours and uncertain incomes, making it difficult to budget and meet essential living costs.
Living Hours helps address this by promoting guaranteed hours and better notice of shift patterns, giving workers greater financial security.
For many families, more predictable income could reduce the need for food banks and other crisis support while helping people plan for the future with confidence.
By adopting both the Real Living Wage and Living Hours, employers can help create a stronger local economy where work provides a genuine route out of poverty.
A Growing Movement
The Living Wage movement continues to grow across the UK. More than 16,700 employers are now accredited by the Living Wage Foundation, including major private sector employers, charities, universities and public sector organisations.
These organisations have voluntarily committed to paying all directly employed staff at least the Real Living Wage and are helping to tackle in-work poverty across the country.
The Living Wage Foundation estimates that nearly half a million workers have received pay rises as a result of employer accreditation.
Why This Matters for East Riding
Food banks across East Riding continue to support households facing financial hardship. Increasing wages alone will not solve poverty, but ensuring that more employers pay a wage that reflects the real cost of living would be an important step towards reducing the need for emergency food support.
ERFPA believes that every worker deserves a wage that allows them to live with dignity, support their family and participate fully in community life.
By encouraging more local employers to become accredited Real Living Wage employers, East Riding has an opportunity to build a fairer local economy where work genuinely provides a route out of poverty.
A Fairer Future
ERFPA is encouraging businesses, public sector organisations and anchor institutions across East Riding to explore Living Wage accreditation and join the growing national movement for fair pay.
Reducing poverty is not only about welfare support; it is also about ensuring that work pays enough to meet the real cost of living.
A stronger commitment to the Real Living Wage would help create healthier communities, stronger local businesses and a future where fewer families need to rely on food banks to get by.