Real living wage in UK public tenders
Real living wage is a policy or commitment that UK public buyers ask suppliers for. In the UK public notices we have read, 223 name Real living wage in their published text — 20 of them in words that make it a requirement.
759,877 notices classified · 10 Oct 2026
Policies & commitments
Real living wage
- Who sells against it
- HR & reward consultants
- Named in notices
- 223
- As a requirement
- 20
- Open for bids now
- 3
01/ How often
How often UK buyers name Real living wage
Notices naming it each full year. The count is small because a notice is a summary: requirements usually sit in the tender documents, which the notice never quotes.
Every count here is a floor. We match the text of the notice, and a notice description is a summary — most tender packs demand things it never mentions. From 2025 the Procurement Act changed notice conventions, so the series is not continuous across that line.
Rate per 10,000 notices: 2019 3.3 · 2020 3.5 · 2021 1.6 · 2022 3.3 · 2023 3.5 · 2024 1.4 · 2025 3.0
| Period | Notices naming Real living wage | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 17 | 17 |
| 2020 | 14 | 14 |
| 2021 | 10 | 10 |
| 2022 | 30 | 30 |
| 2023 | 34 | 34 |
| 2024 | 14 | 14 |
| 2025 | 26 | 26 |
02/ Alongside it
What buyers ask for with Real living wage
Of the 223 notices that name Real living wage, how many also name each of these.
Notices naming it that also carry a classified requirement for each item.
03/ Against the others
Real living wage against its class
The most-named policies & commitments in UK notices, all years, and how often each is made a requirement.
Every count here is a floor. We match the text of the notice, and a notice description is a summary — most tender packs demand things it never mentions.
04/ The evidence
The sentence that asks for it
Every count on this page traces to a sentence in a real notice. These are the most recent, requirements first.
Bidders must be accredited as a Real Living Wage Employer through the Living Wage Foundation at the time of tender submission or, where not currently accredited, must commit to obtaining accreditation within six (6) months of contract award,
RequiredPowys County CouncilFire Door Inspections, Remedials and Replacements across the County of Powys, Mid Walesshall review the contract term around the Real Living Wage annually.
RequiredCumberland CouncilFramework for the Provision of Residential and Nursing Care ServicesIt is a requirement of this procurement that bidders must pay the London Living Wage to be considered for an award of the contract.
RequiredLondon Borough of SuttonTerrorism InsuranceUntrained workers (see criteria for trained workers below) and trained workers must be paid the National Living Wage or Real Living Wage irrespective of age and the chargeable rates for such untrained workers are also set out in Appendix 2 along with the future pricing mechanism.
RequiredManchester City CouncilAgency Workers 071-2024 Provision of Front of House (FOH), Back of House (BOH) & Kitchen (Chefs & preparation) Agency Workers for Manchester Central Convention Complex LimitedContractors shall make reasonable endeavours to comply with the Council's commitment to pay a Living Wage to its own employees and those of its sub-contractors
RequiredOxford City CouncilMaintaining Pumping Stations in Oxford and Providing Ad-hoc attendance to Breakdowns - AWARDAs an HS2 site all personnel must be paid at least Living Wage and generally be directly employed.
RequiredMace DragadosHS2 Curzon Street Station - Waste Management Services
05/ Method
How this page is made
Live figures
Notice counts come from RFP Quest's requirements Observatory: every UK notice on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder is read, and a notice counts as naming Real living wage only when a sentence in its published text names it. That sentence is stored with the count, which is how the evidence section can quote it.
“Required” means the sentence itself uses obligation wording — must, shall, mandatory, is required and similar — and a negated one (“is not required”) does not count. Rates are per 10,000 notices published that year, so years with more notices in the record compare fairly with years with fewer.
“Alongside it” counts, among the notices that name it, how many also carry each other classified requirement. The JOSCAR tag is left out: its matcher also catches “Achilles Building Confidence”, a different scheme.
Outside sources
- Find a Tender and Contracts Finder — every notice counted on this page, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Observatory
Every requirement
Certifications, schemes and clearances named in UK notices, side by side.
Live
Every open UK tender
Search today's notices, categorised and filterable, free.
Requirement
CHAS accreditation
Levels, prices and the notices — the template's worked example.
Record
Who's winning
Which suppliers win which categories, and how often incumbents keep the work.
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Find the work Real living wage opens
RFP Quest reads every UK notice and flags what each one demands — Real living wage included — so you only chase the ones you can bid.
RFP Quest reads every notice on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder and records each requirement with the sentence that states it.