London in £23k

[MartinMartinMarti]

NC because it’s slightly mortifying to have to ask this…

A young colleague of mine says he needs a pay rise because he can’t live on £23k, for a job on central London.

I’ve been working for years so don’t have direct recent experience of this.

For background, this is an entry level trainee job, which is specifically advertised as a way into an industry for people without any relevant qualifications. Those who are good get very rapid promotions.

I know it’s not megabucks, but what does life in London on low £20ks look like? For a young single person with no kids?

It’s ok if they are living with their parents, otherwise they would be pretty skint

The real living wage for London equates to £21,574, which has been calculated so that a person can meet their needs.

So £23k is doable but you wouldn't be able to save a lot nor have much of the London social experience.

He can afford to be in a house share on that. I started in London on less and survived! It sounds fine for a trainee role.

That is a low salary for London. I earned more than that 10+ years ago as a receptionist where the only job requirements were basic IT skills snd smiling. A cousin of mine in his early 20s earns about 27k but still lives with his mum as it’s too expensive to move out apparently- my aunt lives in a nice part of zone 3 so I partly suspect it’s about not sacrificing the good location and going out money! I’m sure 23k is doable but it’s not going to be much fun either.

Should be ok in a house share.

I cant pay my bills is no reason to be given a payrise. My skills are worth more than this is, however, if provable, has he done a survey of comparable job pay rates?