To think that the National living wage gives me more options?

[Finallyonboard]

Genuinely interested to know if IABU.

I work in a very difficult job which is emotionally draining (although I generally love it, it is very sad at times). I earn £30000 which I work out to be £16.00 per hour. AIBU to think that a national living wage of £9 per hour means that I wouldn't be much worse off giving up my career and doing a job that I will find less emotionally draining. Am I missing something? I'm actually feeling quite excited?

[IWantToBeCalledAnneOfAvonleaBu]

It's not unreasonable if you're happy to lose nearly half your salary. £9p.h. is still a very low wage. Are you seriously considering this?

[ilovesooty]

£9 ph is the rate by 2020.

[RambleOn]

You could easily do that now without the NLW. Where do you live? We can swap jobs if you want. Although you may find the loss of income more stressful than your current job.

[notquitehuman]

There are unskilled jobs round here for £10 an hour. Call centre work, caring, general admin etc. If you think you can live on this then go ahead.

[Iggly]

£6 an hour adds up. Have you been suckered by Osborne?!

[RambleOn]

And I don't even know what job you do, but there is nothing more 'emotionally draining' than watching your children growing up going without.

In fact in the light of you posting this when thousands of hardworking parents are losing thousands of pounds of their much needed income, I would say you we're being a GF.

[MarchLikeAnAnt]

By 2020 £9 will probably be worth the same as £7 today.

[crustsaway]

Its up to you if you can survive on such a wage.

I live in London and think its a disgusting rate to be paid.

[wafflyversatile]

I presume that it is actually the National Minimum wage that is changing. Just because he says the words 'living wage' doesn't mean that's what it is!

While what he's offering is a step in the right direction it's not actually level with the Living Wage which organisations have been campaigning for and it won't hit this years considered Living Wage for several years by which time the living wage may well have risen.

That aside lower grade work is not guaranteed to be less stressful. And a drop from £16/hr to £7.20/hr is a massive drop in income. I can't imagine that would hurt.

[PtolemysNeedle]

YANBU. I was thinking about doing more training to increase my hourly rate, but there doesn't seem much point anymore. I can't see any reason why I should bother taking on more stress and responsibility when it's not going to make me any better off, especially compared to people who have less stress and responsibility but earn the same.

[Finallyonboard]

Not considering it imminently but just wondering if it could work for me in the future. I love my job in lots of ways, it generally works well for my family but often, I can't sleep where I'm going over all of the awful things I've seen. Sometimes I'll be playing with my DC and I'll have a flashback that paralyses me and causes me to feel sick. Is it really worth an extra £7 per hour? Probably not? Also, public sector so also only looking at 1% pay rise.

[wafflyversatile]

wouldn't hurt.

[BankWadger]

I earn about £1 above NMW. This NLW is due to start at £7.20, so roughly what I earn now. I don't see my employer giving me a pay raise to keep everyone in my pay band (huge company, at least half if not more staff at this level) at this level above NLW. Take into account inflation and rising costs (food, energy etc) I see no benefit at all for the slightly above lowest paid workers. There will just be more on the lowest level being booted for daring to be low paid

Unless your job is really properly effecting your health, keep the good wage.

[Finallyonboard]

Ramble, you make a good point. My timing is insensitive and I apologise for that.