London Living Wage up to £8.55

The so-called living wage may do more harm than good.

Highly successful, blue chip companies may well be able to sign up to the scheme fairly effortlessly.

Public authorities can also do so and simply pass the bill on to the taxpayer.

There is, however, a danger that naming and shaming companies unable to meet higher wages will depress job creation particularly in the poorer parts of the UK.

London is singled out for special treatment, but it is assumed that there are no differences between Bradford and Bath or between Winchester and Wolverhampton.

This is evidently absurd.

We back the idea of a living wage and we encourage businesses to take it up.

[But] we are not proposing to require it for businesses.

Small firms want to pay their employees more, and recognise the benefits of doing so. However, they are struggling to manage cash-flow in the midst of weak economic demand and increasing energy and fuel costs.

I think the unemployed should work for the payout if they have been out of work for more than six months… As a business owner trying to make a go of things, I get zero benefits even though I have had no income for the last three months.

It’s not about paying a higher wage - bring down the cost of living that would make the difference - small businesses won't be able to afford that and will have to close.

As the manager of an organisation caring for the elderly, we would dearly love to pay our staff the recommended living wage.

To employ one carer for 24 hours on this wage with pension and national insurance would cost us £201.84.

The government pay us £47.66 per day to care for each elderly resident. Some things just don't add up.

We fully support the principles of the Living Wage Campaign, which encourages all employers to reward their staff fairly. That is why the commitment to pay the Living Wage is part of the Scottish Government's public sector pay policy for the third year running.

We have a huge range of household names on board and I want to see more coming forward. I’m sure that the new Living Wage Foundation trademark will become a fantastic badge of honour for the capital’s employers and add further momentum to a campaign I wholeheartedly support.

We commend those employers who have already signed up to it.

However, it is essential that more companies follow suit. We want millions to benefit from a living wage, not thousands. It is simply not good enough for large companies to plead poverty at a time when their cash reserves are increasing.