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.

@NewstartOct2024 in the farming world the contracts we have now are considered the gold standard. 5 years ago we’d have bitten your hand off for them as the price we were paid then didn’t even reflect our costs. We feel we’ve done fairly well to get where we’re at.

I’m not sure when it comes down to it it’s anyone’s fault, not the supermarkets, not the farmers, not the consumer who chooses
to buy the cheap chicken instead of the British produced one. I think my point is we shouldn’t be blaming any one person or section. We all have a responsibility to do what we can within our spheres of influence. So on our part, we do pay slightly above NMW. When the 9-5 supermarket buyers come tour the farm I make sure they know we and our staff work 50-60 hour weeks and will be working Christmas Day and summer Sunday nights. I do try to buy British where I can but we se ourselves the challenge to live off what we pay our full timers (with one or two exceptions) and can’t always do it.

Perhaps the government should have done that then instead of making suppliers bear the brunt?

Gottoleave, our business has been viable for over 40 years. Although I suppose it depends what you mean by viable.
It's kept 12 people employed for all that time. Happily too, as most of them have been there for decades, three wanting to stay past retirement age.
It's keeping work in the UK and not abroad, keeping dying manufacturing skills alive, and providing a great service to our customers.
The three directors live modestly, and I deeply resent the constant inference that small company owners are somehow ripping off our employees, who, as I say, we have known, worked with and cared about for decades.
Does the fact that none of us are millionaires make the business unviable? I don't think so.

Same here except ours has been going for 100 years!

I disagree on some points. I think profiteering by supermarkets is obscure.

"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."

A 159% increase in profits. £2.29 BILLION.... now that is obscene. The profits should be taxed more.

Yes I think thd extortionate profits of huge businesses should be addressed. I'm sure increasing NMW for their staff is slso correct.

⬆️
This!

So, Blanketyre and BinkyBeaufort, the success and longevity of your businesses relies on you being able to pay your staff the absolute minimum?

Maybe Blanketyre should listen to their own advice - if paying your employees an extra 77p an hour is going to cause you issues, you're not striving hard enough to better yourself and your business.

'you want even more per hour then work yo gain qualifications and apply for another job. You surely can't expect the tax payer to subsidise you to the point you can live as comfortably as someone with a highly qualified profession?'

Forgetting, of course, that the taxpayer is also generously subsidising businesses who pay their workers a wage that is too low to live on.

Thing is all the same arguments against better wages or conditions have been trotted out over the decades.

Reducing the working week from 60 hours and gaining a weekend was going to be the downfall of the country when a 40 hour working week was introduced.

The last 4 years have seen wages at the bottom rise, now if those earning a pittance for a skilled job don't like it they need to protest

Tesco had £3bn in profit last ear but the workers earn NMW whilst the CEO has a million £ package

The ignorance on this thread is astounding.

So you keep saying. But your condescension continues to shine through. Your utter contempt for those earning low wages is astounding.

It really is. It amazes me how ignorant and selfish people can be. As long as they are ok eh!!

I remember when for the first time ever we got a minimum wage in the UK and the difficulties it caused with pay differentials. I would rather the free market prevailed but we are as we are and may be the higher minimum will mean fewer benefits are paid to parents who work I suppose. I would also like there to be fewer people fighting for jobs too but given the UK's record numbers tha tis not likely to happen any time soon.

However even in my profession where most lawyers are not in City firms on high pay, may paralegals will get £23k a year. That is now minimum wage once these changes come in so you do A levels, a 3 year law degree, a one year post grad, take on huge debts, have a 15% student loan charge including post grad loan, have not got a contract to train a law firm so are a pare legal and after all those years of non earnings now you are on the minimum wage.

If we move as a result into an inflationary spiral (which I don't want) the silver lining is that those with large mortgages will find in effect they become much less in real terms because of effects of inflation - that is small comfort to many however.

At the risk of sounding like a complete thicko, how do other countries manage to keep wages higher, (including public sector) and eg subsidised childcare? Presumably they pay more in taxes to fund that but is eg food , going to restaurants etc more expensive. I know Scandinavian countries are often held up as an example but everyone I know who's been to Denmark says how expensive it is to buy a coffee or eat out (but does that cancel out if you live there because your wage is comparatively higher?)

To me, if you have skills & experience, you should be more productive and able to earn more.

If an employer is not rewarding your skills & experience, move. If you cannot move, perhaps it is that actually the skills you have are not in demand, and retraining is maybe your best option.

If you read my first post you will see that it's only two employees on NMW, but every time they get a pay rise we have to put up everyone else's too in order to maintain the differential which reflects the various skill levels. Our other employees earn up to £46k.
It's the snowball effect, and added to our increased NI contribution it's going to make things tougher.
But you're right, we could just shut up shop and everyone could go on benefits.

There is not really an incentive to train these days tbh - the UK is definitely edging towards communism

Remember that the next time you complain about paying £20 for a plate of pasta/chicken balti/whatever.

Good point. When top tier company people are hired on ever increasing amounts, with golden handcuff deals and brilliant pension packages, no one gives a shiny shit.
But that one salary every year would probably pay for the nmw increase and ni increase for all the other staff.

That's because companies who pay a lot to attract highly paid staff can afford to do so.

Plenty of businesses cannot afford to do this, and don't do this, and they are the ones who will suffer.

Business 101.

I didn't say it was new information, though it may have been new to the person I responded to.

Were you not trying to diminish my point?

If so, then this implies that you're in favour of accelerating the problem I described.
If not, then I have to wonder why you bothered saying anything at all. Is the grass still green where you are?

It’s obvious why.

There millions of people who can do a
NMV job but few who have the experience and qualifications for a job that pays six figures. Of course they will get the better pay package.

And they will pay a lot more in tax and NI than someone on NMV so why should anyone give any kind of shit about it?

There's plenty of people on large salaries who may have qualifications but are fairly shite at their jobs - we see it all the time.

So?

What do you want to do about it?