Bristol: Living Wage City

The Bristol Living Wage City initiative is led by a group of employers in the city who are working to reduce in-work poverty. In 2019, the group was formally recognised and given accreditation by the Living Wage Foundation for its efforts to make Bristol a Living Wage City. Bristol was one of the first UK cities to receive this acknowledgement.

The group’s aim is to more than double the number of accredited Living Wage employers in Bristol – both large and small – by the end of 2025, ensuring that over 50,000 staff are paid the Real Living Wage, which is currently set at £12 per hour (as of October 2023). In the first four years of the Bristol Living Wage City initiative, employers in Bristol have raised the wages of over 4,000 of their employees. 

By paying the real Living Wage, employers are taking a stand to ensure their employees can earn a fair pay which is enough to live on. An extra 4,000 people earning the real Living Wage helps make Bristol home to a fairer society.

The benefits of becoming a Living Wage employer include:

• Enhanced reputation 

• A potential competitive edge in bidding for tenders

• More attractive to staff, and therefore more competitive in the jobs market 

Watch our short film and hear from just some of Bristol’s accredited real Living Wage employers and their staff: 

Making Bristol a Living Wage City

If you would like to know more about paying your staff the real Living Wage or are interested in becoming accredited, email livingwage@bristol.gov.uk or visit the Living Wage Foundation website: www.livingwage.org.uk.