What is London Weighting?
London weighting is an allowance that is given to certain workers who work in London in order to try and encourage key workers to stay in the capital, in spite of living costs that are considerably higher than elsewhere in the UK.
There are bands of London weighting – “Inner London” and “Outer London” offering different levels of support.
London weighting has been paid to key workers since 1920, however, since its inception the governing body responsible for setting it has changed several times. Nowadays the Greater London Council, the Mayor of London and Central government work in partnership to determine the level of London weighting to be paid.
Who can benefit from London Weighting?
The range of different professions that qualify to receive London weighting is varied, however only public servants (i.e. those who work in the public sector) are eligible to receive it. In IT it is more likely that the company or organisation you work for will determine whether or not you receive London weighting than your job title.
How much London Weighting Allowance can I expect to receive?
The current London Weighting allowance is between £3,000 and £4,000, however, there are government discussions underway that could look to increase this in the near future. These discussions have arisen from the results of a new survey undertaken by “The Warwick Researchers” that revealed that at least £4,200 London weighting allowance is needed in order to make a public sector employee’s salary comparable to that of a private sector employee.