The research found that over 80% of catering and kitchen assistants, 85% of waiters and waitresses and 90% of bar staff are all working below the living wage, of £7.65 an hour nationally and £8.80 an hour in London.
5.28 million people in the UK are earning less than the living wage, equating to 22% of all those employed.
The living wage is a voluntary rate of pay that is based on the recognition that the national minimum wage of £6.50 is not sufficient to maintaining a decent quality of life.
There are 456,000 kitchen and catering assistants employed in the UK, paid on average £6.89 and it’s estimated that 370,000 of those employed in the sector are paid below the living wage.
The research was based on the living wage figures prior to November 2014. New living wage figures were released earlier this month, with a 20p rise in the figure nationally to £7.85 and a rise from £8.80 to £9.15 in London.
This could mean that findings in the research could be even higher with the rise taken into account.
Other findings from the research showed that women are more likely to earn below the living wage than men; part-time workers are more likely to earn below the figure than full-time workers; and young workers are more likely to earn below the figure than older workers.
Mike Kelly, head of living wage at KPMG, said: “With the cost of living still high the squeeze on household finances remains acute, meaning that the reality for many is that they are forced to live hand to mouth. Inflation may be easing, but unless wages rise we will continue to see huge swathes of people caught between the desire to contribute to society and the inability to afford to do so.
“For some time it was easy for businesses to hide behind the argument that increased wages hit their bottom line, but there is ample evidence to suggest the opposite - in the shape of higher retention and higher productivity. It may not be possible for every business, but it is certainly not impossible to explore the feasibility of paying a living wage.”