29th September 2025
Another way – or rather a parallel way – of reducing the inequality between rich and poor (so enabling us to live within the inner and outer limits of the doughnut) is to ensure minimum pay rates that are sufficiently generous to enable a good level of wellbeing. In this regard the ‘real living wage’(1) should be a minimum. The current real living wage is £12.60 per hour (outside London) which for a 35 hour week equates to £22,050 per annum.
But how generous is that – is it just a necessary minimum?
According to the calculations of Raisin (2) a comfortable salary for a single person would be £28,018. But add in a young child, and that income would need to increase to £51,363 – or for a couple and one young child, a joint income of £65,810.
And equally what if you earn the real living wage but are only able to get 20 hours a week?
An alternative would be to pay everyone a basic income, paid for from taxation, to ensure that no one falls through the safety net of not having enough income to sustain a reasonable standard of living.
- https://www.livingwage.org.uk/what-real-living-wage
- https://www.raisin.co.uk/budgeting/how-much-money-do-you-need-to-live-comfortably-uk/
The Green Tau 