The Mayor Sadiq Khan has today called on employers to improve pay and working conditions for London's night-time workers as new world-leading research shines a light on the changing nature of the capital's thriving night life.
In a first for a global city, a comprehensive new study by City Hall and the Night Time Commission paints a detailed picture of London at night, the workers keeping the city moving, and how the capital's nocturnal habits are changing.
The landmark report reveals that 1.6m Londoners – a third of the capital's workers - usually work evenings and nights and that jobs in the night-time industries are growing faster than the wider economy.
However, more than half a million in occupations where they are likely to work at night, including more than half in the culture and leisure sector, are earning below the London Living Wage.
Those working at night are most likely to be male, aged 45-49 and living in inner London. The sectors employing the most employees at night are the health services, professional services and culture and leisure.
The findings show that two-thirds of Londoners are regularly active at night, including running errands and socialising and that there has been an increase in restaurants, cafes and takeaways open at night. However, the research also reveals that Londoners are drinking alcohol less regularly, and alcohol-related crime has fallen significantly in the last eight years.
The report lays bare the barriers preventing many people from making the most of London at night, with a third of Londoners saying activities are too expensive, while women, disabled people, and those on lower income feel less safe.
Overnight visitors to London spent £16.2bn in 2017. Four out of five visitors to the capital say culture and heritage is the main reason for their visit, and this research shows that going to restaurants is the most popular night-time experience for visitors, followed by sightseeing, going to pubs, the theatre and shopping.
With demand for night time activities and services expected to rise from Londoners and visitors, this valuable research will be used by the Night Time Commission and Night Czar Amy Lamé to help shape the Mayor's Vision for London as 24-hour city. The Mayor appointed a Night Time Commission to research what London is like between 6pm and 6am and provide recommendations on how London can become one of the world's most forward-thinking night-time cities.
Sadiq is committed to ensuring that London's night-time culture meets the needs of all Londoners, and has pledged to plan for life at night in the same way the city does for the day. His work has already included teaming up with local authorities and developers to help safeguard night-time economy and culture venues, including setting up a Night Time Borough Champions Network, chaired by his Night Czar. He also launched the Night Tube and Night Overground.
Earlier this year, Night Czar, Amy Lamé, and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Sophie Linden, called on organisations, businesses and councils to join the Mayor's Women's Night Safety Charter and help ensure women in the capital are safe at night. The charter sets out guidance for venues, operators, charities, councils and businesses to improve safety at night for women. This includes better training of staff, encouraging the reporting of harassment, and ensuring public spaces are safe.
This week is Living Wage Week and on Monday, Sadiq announced that the London Living Wage is increasing from £10.20 to £10.55 per hour. Sadiq is determined to make London a fairer and more equal city and that's why later this year he will be launching his Good Work Standard. The Good Work Standard will support employers in adopting best practice and achieving high standards in areas of such as workplace diversity, flexible working, health and well-being, skills development and ensuring employees' voices are heard at all levels of their organisations.
Night time occupations are those with an above average representation of night time workers and have been defined for this report.
*Almost twice as many employee jobs in night time occupations earn below the London Living Wage – 531,000 - as employee jobs across all other occupations – 275,000.
*Employee jobs in night time industries are growing faster than employee jobs in London's wider economy. Between 2001 and 2017, the sector grew by 2.2 per cent a year compared to 2 per cent overall.
*The number of people who drank alcohol in the last week in England has dropped from 67 per cent in 1998 to 58 per cent in 2016. Proportionately fewer Londoners consume alcohol than people across Britain.
*Alcohol-related offences fell by 51% between 2010/11 and 2017/18, and now make up just 4.3 per cent of all crime at night.
The report also identified a lack of available data in a number of areas and a need for more detailed research on the impact of the night-time economy.
The real Living Wage is an hourly rate of pay set independently and updated annually (not the UK government's National Living Wage). It is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK, and employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis. According to the Living Wage Foundation, since 2001 the campaign has impacted over 180,000 employees and redistributed over £800m to some of the lowest paid workers in the UK.