FLAT-PACK furniture giant Ikea faces being stripped of its Living Wage Foundation (LWF) accreditation after refusing to raise its lowest rates by just 20p an hour.

LWF-accredited employers have until May to comply with the £9.50 minimum introduced in November, but Ikea, whose online sales rose by nearly a third during the pandemic, has already indicated that it will not do so.

Ikea remained listed as a “principal partner” on the LWF website today, where a statement from the Sweden-based transnational said: “We are proud to pay the real living wage and view it as a worthwhile investment in our people.”

The company also displays plaques in the reception areas of its sites boasting of its status.

In a letter to the GMB union, the LWF said: “We’re aware that Ikea aren’t planning to implement the new rates by the deadline in May, at which point they wouldn’t be compliant with our accreditation criteria.

“We’re meeting in March to discuss their long-term commitment to the living wage and will do everything we can to ensure they uplift to the current rates at the earliest opportunity.”

GMB regional organiser David Shamma demanded: “Why should Ikea be allowed to flaunt its [LWF] status if it is too tight-fisted to pay the workers who prop up its empire just 20 extra pence an hour?

“Ikea masquerades as an ethical business, but right now the company is putting profits before people.”

An Ikea spokesperson said that a “challenging” retail environment had prompted the firm to implement a pay freeze in 2020, “including any increase in the real living wage,” and that it had agreed to “pause” its accreditation with the LWF “until the future is clearer.”