NMW to increase again next year to £12.21 ph.

Exactly.
It is absurb to think that a NMW job is automatically not stressful.

Maybe. But equally addressing the biggest elephant in the room, the extortionate rental market, may solve some of the issues too.

of course you can go on holiday.

Up to 4 weeks out of the country. You just need to send them a journal message or whatever.

How is that a hardship?

And only asked if you were comfortable sharing your UC income, the one you are so cruelly housed about.

You are not. That’s OK.

So not raising the lowest wages as per the norm per year is the answer?

But you want state help, so you need to jump through the hoops they ask in order to obtain that help.

You are allowed a holiday. You are allowed multiple holidays a year while claiming UC. Not sure what your issue is? You think you should get a non means tested benefit?

For various reasons, several. That ok with you? Now we have clarified I work FT, I have owned a business and employed people in the past, I don’t have a degree and I pay tax am I allowed to have more than one account?

But you're claiming to be so broke you need a state top up. People who are broke don't go on holiday (I know, because I've not had a holiday in several years!)

People don't like to tackle problems they just like to divert and complain. Both problems can coexist and need resolving by vastly different measures.

It's easier to complain than face the difficult reality of the situation.

You need to inform UC if you go out of the country for a holiday

Even poor people are allowed a holiday, especially if they work.

Why would I share my finances with you? Do you want to share yours with me? I assume you want to pick over it and decide whether you feel it’s justified or not? Hence the “if it makes you uncomfortable for some reason” comment. Did you want my wages and details of any child maintenance I get? Perhaps the details of why I divorced and am a single parent to three children?

You don’t feel it’s all excessive. I don’t really care if you do or don’t, I do feel it is excessive.

I agree

Quick, look over here!

Why should nurseries get special treatment? They are businesses and often very lucrative ones.

If they can't afford NMW then they need to close, as posters have suggested other businesses do.

Shame they can't do the same level of hounding and balance checks to say, Thames water.

No, but the concern is that the government raise it without upping the financial support or payments they make to early years providers; it makes it hard for an already struggling sector to absorb the additional costs. Of course these sectors should be properly funded, same with schools etc, TAs absolutely deserve a pay rise, if its coming out of existing budgets though then for many schools the option is to cut hours even if they're desperately needed.

I don't think people are against better pay for anyone, they just recognise the issues that the government won't bother to address in conjunction with it. It's also surely fair for other bands above to get a proportionate rise too.

But they are going to keep struggling because the actual problem hasn't been addressed!

It's not hounding and it's not excessive. It's reasonable when you're giving out significant sums of money per month. Imagine this money were being given to a public body, you would want that body to prove they required the money, what the money was going to be used for and have check in points to show it was still required and/or not being mismanaged, right? Why are benefits any different?

But it's OK for the people working in the nurseries to continue to struggle?

Providing bank statements isn't hard fgs. And how many bank accounts do you have?

You can be out of the country for up to 4 weeks.

Just now much travelling outside the UK do you think someone who is not on UC can afford?

And you had to show in the JC and provide bank statements for checks?

In exchange for a healthy monthly payment?

How much UC do yo get? You don’t have to answer, or course if it makes you feel uncomfortable for some reason.

There’s also no incentive for anyone working for NMW to be good at whatever they do, ie quicker, more efficient etc. when someone with no experience has to be paid the same.
Before minimum wage good employers would increase pay as people gained experience which gave employees a reason to be productive.

@NewstartOct2024 that's appalling.. I've never forgotten (although I forgot his name 😬) sir gerry Robinson talking about care homes for the elderly.

Owners arriving in flash cars and telling over night staff off for making themselves a sandwich.

Silver farms and extremely lucrative.

I imagine the same for the children and are these the same "care homes" where they are prayed on by county lines and abusive rings of men trafficking them??

Yes

And as I've said before, people that make ridiculous statements like this are happy to buy from all over the world, rock bottom wages and unethical working practices and all.

We have to compete for global tenders. With NMW going up we are becoming increasingly uncompetitive, so all the contracts go to China and India who often pay terrible wages with unethical working practices. People on here crowing about employers deserving to fail will no doubt twist themselves in knots trying to justify why they also buy cheap crap from countries with awful working conditions.

If you can’t afford to pay your staff £12ph, you shouldn’t have a business

Sad though isn't it, some small businesses provide valuable services or are innovative and beneficial to the country, some sectors there just aren't huge amounts of money in them though. Instead of the gov giving huge contracts to huge businesses, be nice if there were more grants or subsidies to some of these businesses where they provide value and help drive the country in areas that are allegedly a focus such as innovation, STEM etc.

This is the issue for me, smaller businesses I think should get subsidies or an agreement that as long as they meet certain criteria staff can have their wages 'topped up' via a fair and easy process. The big multi million/billion pound industries relying on their staff claiming benefits is crazy and should be what people are outraged at as appose to small businesses. They could easily factor in decent pay and make £££££s.

People on benefits can and are hounded, my DB was in ITU and he got sanctioned for missing an appointment; as we were looking after his phone and post tried to speak to them to explain why he missed it and was told he didn't have anyone on the authorised to speak to them list (whatever it's called). Was sorted in the end but certainly wasn't welcome stress.