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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To feel a bit upset I won't be getting the new National Living Wage?

51 replies

DieSchottin93 · 30/03/2016 21:29

This new National Living Wage will come into effect this Friday. However, it only applies to those aged 25 and over, and because I'm only in my early 20s I don't qualify for it. I'll be stuck in my shitty minimum wage retail job for the foreseeable future until my luck changes. Only two people at work will be getting a pay rise as a result of this National Living Wage - the big bosses decided not to increase the supervisor/manager wages accordingly because they don't value their staff , which means the supervisors at my work will only be getting £1 more than new NLW Shock . For all the extra responsibilities involved in their role I think that's pretty insulting.

I just feel that whichever government people thought this up didn't think it through very well. Personally I think it should apply to those aged 21 and over - think of the age of a very large number of graduates, who've gone to uni at 18 and thus are 21/22 upon graduation. I have more responsibilities than one of my colleagues who will be entitled to this pay rise, yet because of when I was born I'll be paid less for it Sad. AIBU to think this is just a tad unfair?

OP posts:
HelenaDove · 31/03/2016 01:34

Great post Bacon Totally agree.

JinRamen · 31/03/2016 02:54

Interesting. So, my work has an agreement that team leaders get paid 1.5 times the basic rate. Added on to this is the minimal pence increase we get each year, so everyone is on different rates depending on how long we have been there. But, there are new people starting who will get the 'new' wage which means we are no longer 1.5 times the rate, so effectively getting a pay cut? There is no way they will pay 1.5 times the new wage. As it is on bank holidays we all get double pay. Not double the 1.5 but double the regular so sometimes it really isn't worth is working and our staff get a bigger incentive to work bank holidays than us! Note we are all on zero hour contracts...not that we have actually signed anything like a contract, it is just what they say!

ValancyJane · 31/03/2016 08:37

YANBU, I remember this annoying me when I was a checkout girl at 16 and got paid less until my 18th birthday. If you do a job you should be paid accordingly, not due to your age.

StatisticallyChallenged · 31/03/2016 09:07

Well you're way off base with us baconyum. We've not taken a penny out of the business since we started it in August. It's perfectly normal for new businesses to not be profitable in their first year - and we made a reasonable allowance for changes, inflation etc. But the rise is above what we'd allowed for in a single year which isn't surprising given that inflation is basically zero. We pay our employees above what is normal for our industry and area and we also treat them better - paid study leave, more holidays etc. But the nature of our business is that it will basically expand its client base once a year so the first year or two is always going to be tight as a result.

If we were shitty employers we'd have hired a bunch of 16-20 year olds on their minimum wage, probably called a couple of them apprentices whilst expecting them to do the same job as the others and paying them even less, not paid them overtime, put them on zero hours contracts - all of these are absolutely the norm around here. We don't do any of them. But our competitors do which keeps their costs down and so our customers won't swallow a huge fee increase - the reality is most people don't care what the staff are being paid and only want the service as cheap as possible.

BackforGood · 31/03/2016 20:38

When I did business studies and accounts etc some years ago, it was very unusual for any new business to make any money in the first couple of years - I think you must have a very niche area there bacon with your 'nice house, car, holidays' thinking.

AnchorDownDeepBreath · 31/03/2016 20:41

Where do you work, OP?

Quite a few of the big companies have said they'll be introducing the NLW to everyone, even those under 25, so it might be worth jumping ship if you could get to one.

LollipopViolet · 31/03/2016 21:37

YANBU - I'll be getting the new wage as I'm 26. My manager (who is 23 so wouldn't qualify for it anyway) won't be getting a pay rise, neither will the other supervisors.

They have homes to run, I still live at home as i'm studying and working part time to fit round that.

Doesn't seem fair, really. I think if you do a job, pay shouldn't be dictated by age.

Baconyum · 31/03/2016 22:16

Well I was working in the south east but different businesses. But yes that's been my experience.

Groovee · 31/03/2016 22:25

My dd is 16 and the hotel chain she is working for is paying £6.80 an hour instead of the £3 odds the government say they should pay her. I think the changes in pay can be very unfair to younger people especially if for reasons beyond their control they cannot live at home. Everyone should get a fair pay regardless of age.

SlinkyVagabond · 31/03/2016 22:38

Agree with op and others-it should be for all. And as someone remarked, companies will be paring to the bone to protect profits. My ds works for a major supermarket. He will be 25 next month. Unfortunately, the company has cut Sunday and night pay and paid lunch breaks, so NLW will barely make a jot of difference to him.

AllMyBestFriendsAreMetalheads · 31/03/2016 22:54

YANBU - especially when under 25s are also ineligible for some benefits.

We should rebrand it as The National Not a Living Wage.

queenoftheworld93 · 31/03/2016 22:58

YANBU. I'm 22 and will not be earning the NLW. Never mind the fact that I've been living on my own for four years, am educated to post grad level, and have a baby on the way. But of course us under 25s are supposed to live with mummy and daddy freeloading until we're 30. Drives me mad!

queenoftheworld93 · 31/03/2016 23:00

Oh yes and as a PP has added, we're not eligible for any benefits or income support! Some age related, some because my partner is a student. I'm legally not allowed to claim a thing until he finishes studying.

feckitall · 31/03/2016 23:01

My company pays all employees same rate regardless of age so younger employees are laughing with NLW.
BUT
We all have new contracts.

They have taken away benefits which applied to employees who had worked their way up through the company reward scheme, those employees are now screwed as they have removed the progress route and bonuses which all longer serving..ie loyal and hard working staff benefited from.
We were threatened with dismissal for not signing new contracts.

It equates to a 2 k+ a year pay cut.

So definitely no 'living' wage for me!

perfect example of idiots guide to senior management

Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 31/03/2016 23:04

I don't think there's anyone who would disagree with you. It should be a "living" wage for everyone. 16-25 year of olds work just as hard as 25+ year olds.

Original poster
DieSchottin93 · 01/04/2016 16:18

Sorry for the delay in replying, didn't have enough time to go on my laptop last night. Thanks for all the replies so far!

For those that have asked, I work for a medium-sized convenience store/supermarket chain. They don't really seem to care about staff morale, all the seem to care about is saving money wherever possible Hmm I'm sure the big bosses are pretty out of touch with reality and clearly haven't worked on the shop floor for years

I agree with basically all of the posts on here, just who thought it was a good idea to pay someone based on their age and not their ability? Like many PPs have posted, a lot of U25s have homes to run, bills to pay etc etc. I'm lucky in that I'm living at home just now and I have no social life significant outgoings so I'm able to build up my savings just now (not that I have a lot when I get just over £1k a month) but I just feel so.....ugh that my time is seen as less valuable just because of how old I am Sad For now I'm just going to cross my fingers and hope my luck changes and I find a decent, better paid job soon....

OP posts:
MammaTJ · 01/04/2016 16:23

YANBU!

I think if I were your age I would be more than a bit upset.

FinallyFreeFromItAll · 01/04/2016 18:37

Everybody seems to have totally missed the point of introducing a "living wage".

From a government perspective - Basically the government thought if it axed the cut offs for tax credits any lower earning people would be up in arms. So they've done the opposite and kept them the same but vastly cut who's eligible by increasing wages. However as this will also vastly increase the cost of living (employers either put their customers prices up or get rid of more staff so that their profits aren't effected), so no one is going to end up better off.

There has been zero thought about workers who currently earn just over min wage in jobs that are senior or required additional qualifications in comparison to other BMW worker in the same company.

Re young workers earning less
The idea behind it traditionally has always been it is more desirable to get more experienced staff (so likely older) than young never worked before staff. By allowing employers to take on young staff for less money, they are more inclined to employ younger employees than they otherwise would have been. It also means they can afford to employ slightly more staff overall thus decreasing unemployment. Obviously it doesn't always work that way in practice.

JeVoudrais · 01/04/2016 18:38

Age shouldn't come into it. Jobs should be paid based on skills etc required and therefore it is likely that younger people might be paid less than those who are older, but their contribution should not be valued less especially if it is bloody equal.

FinallyFreeFromItAll · 01/04/2016 18:40

Blasted auto-correct I put NMW not bloody BMW!!! Grr

Squiff85 · 01/04/2016 18:40

Thats bad. I work on the admin side for a company who employ around 100 minimum wage staff - they will all be getting the £7.20 regardless of age.

GeorgeTheThird · 01/04/2016 18:44

If you're educated to postgrad level, can you honestly not take a job on more than minimum wage?

FinallyFreeFromItAll · 01/04/2016 18:45

Age shouldn't come into it. Jobs should be paid based on skills etc required and therefore it is likely that younger people might be paid less than those who are older, but their contribution should not be valued less especially if it is bloody equal.

But that is really hard to "police". It would be far easier for a sexist cunt of a manager to pay all the women less because their skills weren't as good. Or for a bully boss to pay a really good worker lowly just because they don't like them. Or a homophobic boss pay gay employees less, stating that they are less skilled. It would be very hard to prove that it really wasn't based on the skill levels of those individual staff.

HermioneJeanGranger · 01/04/2016 19:17

YANBU, it's shit.

I got lucky where I work - also retail but everyone gets paid the same. We employ from age 16, and everyone gets the same pay regardless of how old they are. Supervisors have always been paid £1 more/hour than regular staff (for a lot more work, which is why nobody ever lasts as supervisor!) and that's remaining the same (so they all get £8.20/h now). But there's no night-rate increase for some reason, they're still on £9 something an hour.

I was on £7 an hour before today and I actually only get an extra £26 a month before tax. Hardly makes juggling my finances any easier Hmm

Lanark2 · 01/04/2016 19:30

Its disgusting. Some of the best service I've had in retail has been from the youngest staff members. I do wish there was a national retail strike for one day on precisely this topic. People are trying to build families and get on their feet and, rather ridiculously, are being paid a rate that means they can't afford to shop in the places they are working.