Curzon Cinemas and RSA Insurance join ranks of accredited firms as hourly pay rate rises to £9.75 in London and £8.45 across UK.

Curzon Cinemas, the British Library and RSA Insurance have all signed up as living wage employers as the independently verified pay rate rises by nearly 4% in London.

The voluntary benchmark pay rate for Londoners rises 35p an hour to £9.75 while the rate for the rest of the UK increases 2.4% to £8.45 an hour, from £8.25. Both rates are well ahead of the “national living wage” of £7.20 an hour – the new legal minimum wage for over 25s introduced by the government in April this year.

The Living Wage Foundation, an independent body, sets the living wage based on research by the Resolution Foundation and the Living Wage Commission, which brings together employers, NGOs and unions, using evidence about what people need to meet their everyday basic costs. There are now about 3,000 employers signed up to the voluntary scheme, including Everton Football Club, which signed up this week, Ikea and Lloyds Banking Group.

Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: “Today’s new living wage rates bring a welcome pay rise to thousands of workers across the UK. One in five people earn less than the wage they need to get by. That’s why it’s more important than ever for leading employers to join the growing movement of businesses and organisations that are going further than the government minimum and making sure their employees earn enough to cover the cost of living.”