To be depressed at low level of wages?

[abacucat]

I am looking for a new job and wages where I live have fallen to what people used to be paid 10 plus years ago. Even qualified social worker jobs are starting at £24,000. I am not a qualified social worker by the way, just an example. But there are so many jobs asking for a high level of skills and experience, but a low level of pay. And the few jobs paying anywhere approaching decent wages, are inundated with candidates.

Realistically in the UK birth rates are falling, all but the wealthy will be working through necessity until they die/can no longer work... it's going back to how it was in the 50s.

I can see us downsizing in order to try and help out DC buy a property between them...

YANBU.

Also think every job now advertised is either for a 'trainee' or apprentice, with no mention of permanent position afterwards.. I think it's all a bid to pay less than anything else.

@Apositive mind that is appalling. 😭 I loved ad worked in the U.K. for over 8 years and since moving back to Ireland I have found it interesting to compare. The starting wage for a dental nurses here is 21k and an go up to 42k the average pay is over 29k for a dental nurse. It is beyond me what is happening to wages in the U.K.

The reality is either house prices need to come down or salaries vastly inflate to keep up.

I don't know how anyone can afford to buy these days .

The recession has really affected the job market I don't think it's fully recovered.

I’m a newly qualified social worker and starting on 30k - although my wage won’t increase much for some time. It really depends on the local authority though. I live in the North West so not London.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do

Willow Where I live newly qualified SW jobs are advertised as £24k-£28k.

Where I live they are asking for volunteers to do what used to be paid social work. You need to commit to several weeks training. Loads of what used to be paid jobs are now voluntary.

Loads of what used to be paid jobs are now voluntary

I once saw a 'job' advertised...to do admin in an estate agents. I thought I'd apply then once I'd fully read the ad, I saw it was voluntary! Fucking pisstake!

Couldn't agree more OP - when I started off 15 years ago in the NHS my salary was actually good - with agenda for change and as a band 4 'senior secretary' I've lots more responsibility such as appraisals, back to work after sickness duties and managerial duties on our 'health roster' system.

Basically taking on the duties of what my line manager at band 5 did for no remuneration.

Added to that I'm vilified by lots of the public as secretaries are - we have huge responsibilities such as recognising what results are urgent or not - changing our consultants letters when the very often get things wrong, baring the brunt of patients angst when they aren't happy - my wage sucks and I'm worth so much more.

@MotherOfMinions

and to illustrate the point

www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/10/uk-high-streets-face-quietest-christmas-since-credit-crunch?CMP=twt_gu&__twitter_impression=true

What’s strange is it’s articles done mention that people have less cash to spend.

They mention Brexit and online offers and Black Friday.

But how about us just having less cash to eat out or go shopping with a nice tea out?

Before the credit crunch, we would have eaten out once a week, shopped in town and this just isn’t happening.

I spent £160 last night in Tesco on a shop which would have cost half that fifteen years ago but my salary is the same!

At least the French are rioting in the streets about it

The retail chains complaining how quiet they are can hardly complain when they pay shop workers minimum wage! One in five workers earn under the national living wage.
£8.45 per hour outside of London and £9.75 in London. When people are earning £8 an hour but their rent, bills and food costs are high of course they aren’t going to be out shopping merrily.

Yet I’m sure the chairmen of these companies earn millions of pounds!

"The retail chains complaining how quiet they are can hardly complain when they pay shop workers minimum wage! One in five workers earn under the national living wage.
£8.45 per hour outside of London and £9.75 in London. When people are earning £8 an hour but their rent, bills and food costs are high of course they aren’t going to be out shopping merrily."

Nail On Head!

our rent has not risen in 5 years. as explained already it`s the landlord problem i will just move out if they want more and a cheaper place simple.

i'm pretty shocked at the tax rate articles being linked to - going from £20K to £60K gives you an increase of only £7K in actual net pay? & with three kids that's going be even less.

I'm assuming that most jobs going from 20k to 60k have hugely different expectations in terms of availability/overtime and maybe travel/stress - so why bother?!

It doesn't make any sense.
Or for a middle-class professional like this:
"A woman working more than 30 hours a week with three children and childcare costs of £200 a week can continue to claim tax credits when her income is in the £50,000 to £60,000 a year range.

In this case a salary rise of £1,000 a year would actually leave her worse off. While earning £55,000 a year her total income would be £41,958. This is because she would pay £10,700 income tax and £4,620 Nics but then gain £1,251 Child Benefit and £1,027 tax credits.

But out of a £1,000 pay rise to £56,000 she would pay £400 tax and £20 Nics, and lose £251 Child Benefit and £410 tax credits. That's a total deduction of £1,081."

This is a system that surely can't continue, the divide between lower paid stagnating employee salaries and the very top can't continue to widen any further - how will society continue to function?!

Except you only get tax credits if you have dependent kids. Those adults on higher wages will be way better off when kids reach 18, while those on lower wages will be way worse off.

So example above, better paid employee will be £17k better off which is a lot.

In my old job I earnt £18,500 for 2.5 days a week. I've been a sahm for almost 8 years and when I last looked my old employer was hiring for the same role I did, full time £15k. Laughable, especially as where we are is very expensive.

Arrow That is my experience too!! Very low wages for jobs that used to be decently paid.

What are we all supposed to live on? I was in London today. I passed ten beggars before I'd even crossed the bridge from waterloo to the North bank. When I opened the Metro and the Standard, every second advert was for volunteers or charity requests for money.
The institution I work for is heaving with wealth. But the people who the institution relies on for being famously outstanding at what they do get paid peanuts. I'm so angry I can't wait to leave. But where is the money?

The high street is going to suffer more too. Consumers seem to be thinking more of sustainability these days as well as money. Less “stuff” will be purchased. Brexit will no doubt have a negative effect.

The people at the top will continue to be mystified as they issue profit warnings. Their staff will still be paid minimum wage and topped up by the government.

It also strikes me that low paid workers are expected to achieve so much! Smile and empathise with every customer, offer “outstanding” service, “go the extra mile” and push store credit cards. I’m sure that staff would perform better if they weren’t worried about how they will pay their rent this month. Staff are expected to empathise with customers but who looks after them?

Friend of mine has just been told she will have to stay late on Christmas Eve to get the shop ready for Boxing Day. For no extra pay. One of the other girls who works there has told her that last year they stayed for an extra three hours.

She is also doing Boxing Day for no extra pay.

retail workers who go in on Boxing Day end up doing it to pay for the cab fare to and from work. Because there are no buses in a lot of places

and yet while shop workers and hospitality workers are told its a normal working day cab drivers are allowed to charge double time.

Working three extra hours for no pay? Is she in a union? That’s so bad when she is on low pay!

And from looking at news reports, I bet lots of the customers are quite rude and unpleasant!