According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a salary of £14,400 is the minimum a single person needs for an acceptable standard of living.

That includes food & housing, and the "essentials" needed to "participate fully in society". Mobile phones, internet access and socialising are included. Running a car is not.

£14,400 puts earners above the official government poverty threshold and is also higher than the amount you'd earn on the minimum wage (£5.80ph / £12,064 @ 40h pw).

Government figures suggest that about 30% of workers in the UK are paid less than £14,820.