NMW to increase again next year to £12.21 ph.

[ZoeZee]

If you’ve not had a pay rise this year, despite bringing it up to your employer, and now there’s set to be another 6% NMW increase next year (which is fantastic, don’t get me wrong) the pay gap is narrowing ever more between skilled/unskilled employees.

Skilled and those with MANY years of experience, might as ditch their responsible/stressful jobs (which often keep you awake at night) and look for something that doesn’t have the added responsibility?

Almost 20 years experience means nothing to some employers! AIBU?

Any employers who have a view on this increase, please let me know how this might affect you and your staff.

I would love to be disproven on this so can you show me any data to support what you're saying?

Can you? You're making a positive claim so you first.

You are definitely not being unreasonable. I earn about £16 an hour and have had a 1-2% pay rise over the last 5 years.
Responsible job and have about 30 years of experience.

I guess it's up to the owner to only rent chairs to qualified hairdressers. Our local one is excellent. Open 6 days a week, late evening 3 nights and seems to work really well. They have used this business model for years. Hairdressers pick the hours that suit their own lives.

That's no from you then.

This is what is called and illustrative example. I have explained why the increase in wages will cause prices to rise in proportion, I haven’t “hand waved anything away” where do you think business owners are going to get the money to absorb all these costs - as well as dealing with their own wage and tax increases they will also be having increased costs from suppliers as they too face increased salary and tax costs.

And also from you.

As a business owner of some 35 years, I can absolutely agree that some on here haven’t got a clue about how businesses work and operate.

That’s perfectly ok, but perhaps better to not comment on things that you don’t understand.

This.
Although now you can look forward to having the hamster woman trying to argue with you for the rest of the evening 🙈

You are delusional.

I wish people would stop assuming that everyone on NMW or slightly above is uneducated or doesn't have a degree.

There are many reasons such as family, health, caring responsibilities that may mean that they work in a job that they are "overqualified" for.

Yeah I haven't got a clue so I don't comment. Reading with interest though as I'm trying to better understand economics.

Even idiots! Well if that makes you feel better to name call.Everyone is entitled to an opinion, yes freedom of expression and speech, l believe, in the UK, regardless to whether you think they’re idiots.

So much arrogance on this thread. So much condescension.

All those poor, stupid, uneducated people whose extra 77p an hour is going to bankrupt the country.

How about all the paragon-like small businesses who don't pay the tax and VAT they should?

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/sep/09/billions-lost-from-small-retailers-in-tax-evasion-says-watchdog

@Gorgonemilezola Yes
How dare the uneducated, have an opinion!

And as StrawberryJ pointed out, there are plenty of highly educated people on minimum wage for myriad reasons. Salary doesn't equate to intelligence.

Completely agree.

Also in a similar situation. We put pay up in 2023 above MW to cover what we thought may be an April 24 increase. Little did we know it would be this much. We will increase all wage bands to make sure skills are rewarded. We will also have to pay more in employers NI. Funded hours won't cover this and we will try our hardest not to push this onto parents. Yet again it feels like charity Early Years settings get shafted

Why don't you pot wash then?

In lots of businesses the employees are paid poorly to maintain profit margins and keep the already wealthy shareholders, wealthy. I’ve seen it so many times. Profits staying high, workers conditions and pay deteriorating. It’s not ok. It’s not civilised.

If your manufacturing industry is an essential part of our infrastructure then there is an argument for state support. If it’s not then that’s just unfettered capitalism and that’s the system we have chosen (that needs to change IMHO) - so if your business can’t survive without pushing it’s workers into poverty then it’s not a viable business.

More posts from people making moral judgements about business in this country while buying stuff from all over the world, including from countries with poor working conditions and ultra low wages.

I wonder if these people pontificating about uk businesses deserving to fail ever consider their own buying habits?

Absolutely! You've got bigger problems if you can't afford this... its short sited thinking. Especially in the hospitality industry. Paying your waitresses £12ph might seem high, but surely you benefit from more people going out to eat because they can actually afford to?

I keep repeating this on here. We sell food to supermarkets. It’s literally written into our contracts that when our costs go up the price we are paid goes up. You will literally be seeing price rises for staple foods on your shelves in 3 months time.

What I should have added to my post is that the supermarkets base our wage cost of NMW. That’s for staff who work weekends, till 11pm sometimes. As much as we’d like to we are to a point dictated to what we do.

Then the contracts with the supermarkets need changing. Supermarkets make HUGE profits. The problem isn't with NMW going up the problem is huge businesses underpaying workers to keep profits extremely high and workers relying on benefits to top up income and pay rent!

"The UK's largest supermarket chain reported a 159% increase in pre-tax profits for the year to February 2024, up to £2.29 billion." That's obscene. That's what needs sorting.