Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

A decent budget for low paid workers.

470 replies

Sickoffrozen · 08/07/2015 14:16

Aibu to think that overall the budget was good news for the low paid with a big increase in minimum wages announced?

Seems like a decent idea to me.

But I stand to be corrected.....

OP posts:
ChuffinAda · 08/07/2015 15:44

Why are tube drivers salaries so high?

cantbelievemyeyes · 08/07/2015 15:46

There have always been bands in NMW for different ages (which is shite in my humble opinion) but since the upper band is currently 21 and over, this just adds another level doesn't it? Why do you have to be over 25 to be entitled to a 'living wage'?

VivaLeBeaver · 08/07/2015 15:51

Well currently a band 2 healthcare assistant starting wage is just over £7 an hour. So obv they're going to have to get more than the 1% public sector pay rise to meet this new living wage thing.

Likewise for band 3 and possibly band 4 public sector staff. But then surely all the nurses on band 5 who see the gaps between the band pay scales close will then wonder why they're putting up with all the crap for not much more?? Dunno, I guess at least they'll go up the pay scales but then a band 2 staff has pay scale progression.

Debs75 · 08/07/2015 15:51

i get paid just over the living wage atm but only 16 hours. by the looks of the ctc cuts i will lose money. i bet my employer won't increase my wages until GO raises the 'living wage' past my current wage

i hate budgets as they never make any sense. by the time you understand it they have another one

Original poster
Sickoffrozen · 08/07/2015 15:53

I suppose there may be more people from 2020 onwards already on £9 an hour who may decide the stress they have and unsociable hours are not worth it any more and may choose to look for a less stressful job on the same wages.

OP posts:
ChuffinAda · 08/07/2015 15:55

Debs can't you increase your hours? That's the thinking behind the cuts. Get people out of the 'i can only work x hours else I'll lose my ctc' mentality

BettyCatKitten · 08/07/2015 15:55

I'm definitely worse off, tax credits cut and pay freeze double whammy, cheers Gideon Wine

VivaLeBeaver · 08/07/2015 15:56

Yep. There's a lot of colleagues on my FB feed saying exactly this. They were already fed up of the stress and thinking of leaving, knowing they'd get less money was causing them to drag their feet. Now they're excited at the prospect of jobs which although will still be less money there won't be as much of a drop.

Original poster
Sickoffrozen · 08/07/2015 15:59

Makes sense really doesn't it. Less stress, maybe less travel and same pay. It will also increase the desire for more migrant workers at those wage levels.

OP posts:
TheRollingCrone · 08/07/2015 16:01

Also tax credit withdrawal for those earning over £3000 @ 41p in the £.
Cutting HB for 18-21 yr olds.
End of Maintenance grants for the poorest students.

VivaLeBeaver · 08/07/2015 16:03

Problem is is what happens when all the nurses decide to work in Tesco or be a healthcare support worker? Who's going to be a nurse? Our hospital can't recruit as it is, there isn't a plethora of willing people either migrants or non migrants willing to do it.

irretating · 08/07/2015 16:04

people relying on tax credit s is why the country is skint

Don't talk rubbish.

LST · 08/07/2015 16:06

We earn £31 between us with 2 dc before tax. That means by 2017 we'll be 300 quid down a month. yes brilliant budget Hmm

YouTheCat · 08/07/2015 16:12

I work 16 hours a week. I'd love to double my hours but my work is not offering any extra hours because their budget has been cut and there are no jobs in the area I work because every one's budgets have been cut so it's not as if I can even find more work that way.

He's hurting the working poor. He's damaging the middle earners. The only true winners are people who already have enough.

EllieFAntspoo · 08/07/2015 16:14

Not if as a couple you earn slightly over £30k and you live in social housing.

If you're earning over £30K a year, you shouldn't be in social housing, and if you are, you should be paying full market value for your rent. The reason there is a social housing problem is because too many people leach off the system, and if they are not leaching off the system, then they are cashing in and making money off the system. No-one should be allowed to buy their social housing provided home. Certainly no-one should ever be allowed to buy their parents' or their siblings social housing from the state.

If there were a moratorium on selling social housing that had previously purchased, say, people who have bought their council houses are only allowed to sell them back to the council, and only for their original purchase price plus however many years worth of inflation, less any maintenance required to meet standards, then the profit motive will be extinguished and the owners would see their housing returned to the social housing pool after they expire or move or whatever. they wouldn't lose money, but they wouldn't receive the golden egg they thought they'd landed either.

EllieFAntspoo · 08/07/2015 16:21

We earn £31 between us with 2 dc before tax. That means by 2017 we'll be 300 quid down a month. yes brilliant budget

I know a couple who earn £22K before tax, and they aren't entitled to social housing. I'm sure they'd love an extra £9K a year.

The problem is everyone believes they are 'entitled' in this country. Everyone believes they are 'entitled' to this and 'entitled' to that. I don't believe I'm entitled to anything. I believe that my partner and I have a responsibility to ensure our family is housed, educated, protected and fed, and I do not see that as being the responsibility of my neighbour.

Dawndonnaagain · 08/07/2015 16:24

I believe that my partner and I have a responsibility to ensure our family is housed, educated, protected and fed, and I do not see that as being the responsibility of my neighbour.
Just as I did before dh became too ill to work and then too dangerous to be left alone. Hmm

itsnothingoriginal · 08/07/2015 16:29

The real winners are the pensioners..... again!!

Look how much means testing the winter fuel allowance would save and they won't even consider it.

ChuffinAda · 08/07/2015 16:30

I reckon they won't hit pensioners until my age group (the terminally screwed over) hit pensionable age

BettyCatKitten · 08/07/2015 16:31

look who's just rocked up. Fingers in ears! Rant rant rant!!

nannyj · 08/07/2015 16:33

Hissy they can afford me just but they are normal people who struggle themselves. I'm a lone parent and I'm able to bring my dd to work with me and as the she and the eldest boy go to the same school it's a perfect job in so many ways. They are very thin on the ground where I live.

BettyCatKitten · 08/07/2015 16:34

Yes Chuffin I think you're right. Btw my previous post wasn't durected to you but the goader begining with E. Someone you definitely could not depend upon in an emergency!

BeyondTheWall · 08/07/2015 16:41

Cant believe there isnt a thread about the wrag group Angry

No mention at all of carers allowance?

EhricLovesTheBhrothers · 08/07/2015 16:43

Housing benefit withdrawn to under 21s - that can't apply to careleavers. It's just not possible.

NeedsMoreCowBell · 08/07/2015 16:43

I'm as confused as ever.

I'm a part time worker ( £9 p/hr)
Single parent, privately renting, claiming CTC and WTC

Wages go on rent, Tax Credits feed us

Will I be worse off (please) ??

Swipe left for the next trending thread