Low pay is ruining peoples’ lives and many parents are too poor to buy a winter coat for their children.
Poor wages are having a devastating effect on family life, with parents saying it has harmed their relationship with their children.
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Worker health has also suffered because of low wages, with nearly half of all parents polled by Survation revealing their daily stress levels were rated at least seven on a scale of 0-10.
Out of the 1,016 parents polled, nearly a quarter believed low pay negatively affected relationships with close friends and family.
While 32 percent feel their pay negatively affects the quality of their relationship with their partner and 71 percent worry so much it affects their day to day life.
Thousands of UK parents who work full time and earn less than the Living Wage took part in the poll commissioned by the Living Wage Foundation with the study also finding 35 percent of people always, or quite often, feel lonely.
And more than half spend only 10 percent or less of their free time with their family.
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Katherine Chapman, Director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: ‘It’s shocking to see just how corrosive the effects of low pay are on family life.
‘Many parents are earning too little to provide their children with the basics, like a warm winter coat.
‘What’s worse is that they’re also stuck in jobs that require them to work long, anti-social hours away from their children and report feeling lonely. The stress this places on families is immense.
‘Without a genuine Living Wage based on the cost of living, many parents will continue to struggle to make ends meet, while their family lives suffer, and their health can deteriorate.
‘Thankfully there are now nearly 4,000 Living Wage Employers who are doing the right thing, and paying a fair day’s wage for a hard day’s work.
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‘These are the UK’s most forward-looking and responsible businesses, and they recognise that a healthy and respected workforce is also a productive one.
‘A Living Wage benefits individuals, families, businesses and society, and we now need to see more businesses step up, do the right thing, and pay their workers a decent wage.’
Neil Jameson, Executive Director of Citizens UK, said: ‘Low pay is in danger of ripping the heart out of our communities.
‘In every town and city we work in we hear tales of exhausted mums, dads and young people putting in huge hours just to earn enough to survive.
‘It can’t be right that the health and wellbeing of millions of low paid workers is suffering.
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‘We’d encourage more employers to do the right thing and join the thousands of businesses which already pay a real Living Wage.’
An estimated 5.5 million employees are struggling to get out of in-work poverty. However, the total number earning below the real Living Wage fell by 100,000 from 2016-17.
The Living Wage employers have helped to lift 150,000 workers onto a decent wage that covers the cost of living.
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