Almost a third of workers on low pay have no savings – Living Wage Foundation

Victoria Miller, foodbank manager at Chipping Barnet Foodbank, said: “These findings reflect what we see week in, week out at Chipping Barnet Foodbank. 

“People who are doing everything right, working, budgeting carefully, are still ending up at our door because their wages don’t stretch far enough to cover rent, food and bills. 

“Through our advice and employment support we’re increasingly seeing people who are in work but unable to build any savings or absorb an unexpected cost.”

Miller added: “A real Living Wage would mean fewer working households having to choose between heating and eating, and fewer of them needing a foodbank at all.”

Tracy Armstrong, chief executive at Citizens Advice Newcastle, said: “The findings of this report reflect what we see every day at Citizens Advice Newcastle. 

“With one in three households we support who are in a negative budget including someone in work, and more than half of those households having someone working full time, it is clear that employment alone is no longer a guarantee of financial security.

“Our advisers are supporting growing numbers of people in work who are struggling to afford essentials such as food, energy and housing costs, and who are being forced to make impossible choices about which bills to pay and what they can go without.”

Armstrong added: “We are also seeing increasing levels of debt and financial hardship among working households who have little resilience to cope with rising living costs.

“Paying the real Living Wage would make a significant difference, helping people to meet their basic living costs, reducing financial stress and debt, and giving working households greater stability and security. 

“It is an important step towards tackling in-work poverty and ensuring that work provides a genuine route out of hardship.”