What about self-employed workers and freelancers?

For the purposes of Living Wage accreditation self-employed workers are treated the same as sub-contracted workers. This means that if they work for you for more than two hours for eight consecutive weeks, they must be paid at least the real Living Wage. 

This also applies to workers and contractors who do not have a fixed place of work but are part of the core workforce, such as couriers in a delivery company or home care workers. 

Some freelancers, if working for less than eight consecutive weeks for you, are not covered by your Living Wage Employer commitment. We would always encourage employers to pay at least the real Living Wage and to look at industry-specific freelance rates, such as those suggested by the relevant union or trade body.  

It’s worth bearing in mind that the real Living Wage is calculated based on the hourly wage that meets the costs of living for an employed person, and does not include holiday pay, National Insurance Contributions and pension contributions. Employees have these costs covered by their employer, but freelancers have to cover these costs themselves. For this reason, some Living Wage employers choose to pay freelancers above the real Living Wage, to help cover these additional costs.