Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves celebrated the Living Wage movement last night at the Living Wage Foundation’s 25th Anniversary Living Wage Champion Awards. Employment Minister Kate Dearden MP also attended the Awards, which were held at Church House, Westminster.
The Living Wage Champion Awards are the Living Wage Foundation’s annual celebration of the people and organisations that make an outstanding contribution to advocating for the real Living Wage, Living Hours and Living Pension and growing the movement. This year the Awards celebrated 25 years of one of the most successful civil society movements of the 21st Century.
London-based Champion Award winners included the Making London a Living Wage City campaign, Linklaters, Uniqlo, the Department for Business and Trade, Ealing Council, Cleanology, Compass CIC and Just Helpers cleaning agency.
Over the past 25 years, the Living Wage movement has grown from a small grass roots movement of low-paid workers in East London to a widely recognised standard for good work. Today there are nearly 17,000 employers across the UK choose to pay the real Living Wage, helping to lift the pay of nearly half a million workers each year. Over £4.1 billion has been put into the pockets of the lowest paid workers since the campaign began and around one in seven UK workers are employed by an accredited Living Wage organisation.
In London alone, there are now 4,400 accredited Living Wage Employers and over 150,000 people in the Capital receive a cost of living pay rise every year thanks to the real Living Wage. Nearly £1.9bn has been put back into the pockets of workers in London since the Living Wage campaign began 25 years ago.
Living Wage Champion Awards 2026 winners include:
Headline Awards:
- Uniqlo – Accreditation of the Year
- Department of Business and Trade – Accreditation of the Year
- Bob Bevil, Campaigning Advocacy and Organising Lead at Chipping Barnet Foodbank - Living Wage Champion of the Year
Leadership Awards:
- Siemens – Living Wage Leader (large organisation)
- Just Helpers Cleaning Agency – Living Wage Leader (SME)
- Ealing Council – Living Wage Leader (public sector)
- Compass Wellbeing CIC – Living Wage Leader (third sector)
Scheme Awards:
- West Bromwich Building Society – Living Pension Champion
- Upward Frog Yoga – Living Hours Champion
- Cleanology – Recongised Service Provider Champion
Campaign Awards:
- Making London a Living Wage City – Outstanding Campaign
- Linklaters – Global Champion
- Manchester Action Group – Local Champion
Honours Awards:
- Mubin Haq & Catherine Howarth – Heart of the Movement
- Tia Sanchez & Valdemar Ventura – Heart of the Movement
- Monsignor John Armitage & Bernadette Harris – Heart of the Movement
- Mike Kelly & Guy Stallard – Heart of the Movement
- Manni Hothi & Klara Skrivankova – Heart of the Movement
- Katherine Chapman & Rhys Moore – Heart of the Movement
- Reverend Paul Nicolson – Posthumous Heart of the Movement
Graham Griffiths, Director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: “We were honoured to have the support of the Chancellor of the Exchequer at this particularly special Living Wage Champion Awards. These awards were such a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the hard work, dedication, and passion that has gone into growing the Living Wage movement over the last 25 years, and I congratulate all of the winners on their outstanding achievement. With nearly 17,000 Living Wage Employers, nearly 300 Living Hours Employers, and over 100 Living Pension Employers now accredited, together we are proving that it is possible to create work that works for everyone. With the vital help of committed advocates, our campaign has driven up standards of employment and transformed millions of people’s lives already, building a legacy that has changed the world of work for the better.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said: “I’m proud to be the Chancellor that is making work pay and building a stronger and fairer economy. I’ve increased the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage, directly benefiting 2.7 million full-time National Living Wage workers to the tune of £900 a year, and £1,500 for full-time 18- to 20-year-olds on the National Minimum Wage.
“The Living Wage Foundation and Citizens UK have been at the forefront of the national movement for fairer pay for 25 years, and I’d like to thank them for their work as well as congratulate all of this year’s award winners.”
Employment Rights Minister, Kate Dearden said: "Every worker deserves to be treated with respect and be paid fairly for the work that they do.
“The Living Wage Champions show what's possible when businesses step up for their workers, and I’m delighted that the Department for Business and Trade has been a trailblazer in gaining accreditation.”
Deputy Mayor for Business and Growth, Howard Dawber said: “The Living Wage movement continues to demonstrate that paying a fair wage is good for workers, good for businesses and good for London's economy. It's brilliant to see so many London organisations recognised at this year's awards and to celebrate the progress we've made, with more than 4,400 accredited Living Wage employers across the capital.”
"The Mayor is committed to building on that success by creating more good, secure jobs, investing in the skills Londoners need for the future and working with the Living Wage Foundation so that even more workers benefit from fair pay."
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