Real Living Wage update

05 Dec 2025

From Friday, 1 May 2026, the Real Living Wage will increase to £13.45

The Living Wage Foundation has announced that the Real Living Wage is increasing to £13.45. As an accredited employer, we have until Friday, 1 May 2026, to implement this change.

We have been a proud Real Living Wage employer since 2019, underlining our civic commitments as a key employer in the Manchester region. 

The new rate of £13.45 will sit between points 11 and 12 in Grade 2 on our pay structure, this means that we need to carefully plan how we implement the increase in a way that is fair and sustainable to our colleagues. We are working closely with our Trade Union colleagues at a local level to understand the implications of this and develop our implementation plan.

We will share a detailed update in the New Year. Thank you for your patience as we work through these changes.

More Information

If you need more information, please contact people.reward@manchester.ac.uk