To think with min wage going up 6.7% that

[Frugalcheesecake]

Minimum wage is going up 6.7% next year. My pay has gone up by tiny amounts in comparison to this and is stagnating some years compared to inflation. I only earn a bit above min wage and I find my job very stressful.

Yes I know some minimum wage jobs are stressful but Ive done some that are easy too. AIBU to think that if min wage gets close to your wage a lot of people will quit just to get an easier min wage job if they can find one that is less stress

You thinking working in a supermarket and doing your job properly isn't stressful? 🤫

Do you think the cleaner wasn't important?

I run my org and most CEOs in my groups are saying the ones just above need to say go up 4% and the rest 2% and maintain gaps. But some 💩 bosses won’t and yes people will move on. But if you aren’t chances are you’ll be scooped up by minimum wage in the future.

And both are dusted with a hint of "when I said I support improving living standards I meant for me, not the plebs down there!"

@DieStrassensindimmernass I think you’re being deliberately obtuse. Of course the work of cleaners and shelf stackers is important. No one is denying that. But in general, financial remuneration reflects the expertise of the person doing the job. The fewer people there are that a capable of a job, the more money they can command. Let’s face it, anyone without a significant disability can clean a room. We might not want to, but we can. But we can’t all fly a plane or perform neurosurgery. So those people are paid more. It’s supply and demand.

I work full time (35hrs) as a cleaner in a care home for 6p above minimum wage even though I'm overqualified because it's completely stress free! I do mornings so I'm finished by 2pm every day, I pay for no after school care for my son as I'm home and I pay minimal tax/national insurance. I don't earn enough to pay back my plan 1 student loan. For me to go back into a degree related job it would have to be quite a big pay jump to offset the money I currently save on these things vs the increased stress and responsibilities.

Yet thats patently not true, Carers and healthcare workers get paid very poorly, yet there are currently 39k nurse vacancies in the NHS.

£12ph for driving around in your own car, caring for v vulnerable people, its a disgrace, huge shortage of carers, yet salaries stay v low....

I dont think that's the case. I think the people saying this are people who earned say 8% more than minimum wage and are now going to be earning 1.5% more than minimum wage and I dont think they are thinking minimum wage is wrong, but are being realistic that thier employer isn't increasing thier salary so the incentive to do whatever they did to get 8% more is vanishing.

A lot won't be thinking shall I go work in a supermarket. They will be thinking it's not worth being room leader or team leader as it's only 1.5% more and I have to do a qualification and deal with all the complaints and train people, but apart from that the jobs the same.

Yes I see what you mean about the carer shortage, but in general wages are based on how difficult a job is, not how pleasant it is. If you were setting up a rocket building facility, and you were in charge of the budget, are you going to advertise the roles of “rocket builder” and “office cleaner” at the same salary?

Oh so that's why useless MPs get a minimum £91,346 plus expenses per annum.

Just for comparison, UK airline pilots get an average £72k/yr, neurosurgeons avg £97k.

This, You’re not just stacking shelves.

I worked at McDs a few years ago, the amount of customers that would come round the drive-thru and get angry that I didn’t answer on the speaker immediately- they didn’t seem to realise that you’re actually doing other jobs in the restaurant then quickly running to a screen to take their order when your head set beeps, there seemed to be a general impression that you’re just sat somewhere taking their orders. The reality is these companies will always make sure you’re on the go doing four peoples jobs at once.

@Alphaalga well MPs get highly paid because they make the rules unfortunately! But the point I was trying to make was that everyone knows cleaners are important, but that doesn’t mean they should be paid more than complicated stressful administrative roles. Which is what @DieStrassensindimmernass was implying.

I earn NMW and I'm looking forward to the increase.
I get the feeling from threads like this that us plebs should just be happy that we've got any employment at all, and gratefully accept whatever shit payment that we're deemed to deserve.
Heaven forbid that the standard of living should be raised for those earning the least.
And all these people saying that the gap between min wage and what they're earning is now less, so what?! I assume before this you were happy with what you earn? Has this small increase affected your outgoings? Is it going to make you worse off? No it's not. You just don't like that it's not you.

Race to the bottom indeed.

Btw, I have a degree and don't stack shelves.

I think we all saw, during Covid, what the truly essential jobs were. The country would have collapsed without cleaners, carers, delivery drivers and shop assistants.🤷‍♀️

Absolutely. I really hoped that lesson would have lasted, it’s very sad that it hasn’t.

People that think they can just stroll in to a supermarket and get a job are in for a shock, there aren't that many out there. Most are done by online application if you don't answer the questions correctly you don't get in. We don't even see your cv, age or anything else. And yes it is stressful, maybe not in a life or death job, but that doesn't mean it isn't stressful. It involves being abused on a daily basis, the threat of physical violence on a daily basis, knowing you are going to be short staffed because some colleagues are off sick, many with stress /mh issues caused by abusive customers and if you are a supervisor or above expected to work 10 -12 hour shifts. Then of course you will have to give up one if your family days at the weekend, you will be expected to do Xmas eve , boxing day NYD and Bank Holidays.

The minimum wage certainly should rise, and if people choose to do jobs that pay minimum wage instead of more stressful jobs, it might encourage employers to pay decent wages instead of relying on the government to top them up via tax credits etc.

I saw this happen beginning in covid - lots of our residential carers didn't want the vaccination and were sacked, then found minimum wage jobs elsewhere. Once the vaccination rule was scrapped, they were offered their jobs back - NONE took up the offer - it just wasn't worth it.

We constantly hear about how CEOs etc have to be paid huge amounts plus bonuses to fill the posts and get the best people, 'supply and demand' etc. Funny how that never applies to care staff and the like.

No, I'm asking why you don't value a good cleaner.

People that think they can just stroll in to a supermarket and get a job are in for a shock

They certainly are. Someone I know applied for a supermarket job to fill a gap of a year before starting a PhD - they were rejected.

NMW makes it more attractive for employers invest in the technology to replace tasks with AI / machines.

However, apart from that I don't worry about the gap between the NMW and "professional" wages.

A lot won't be thinking shall I go work in a supermarket. They will be thinking it's not worth being room leader or team leader as it's only 1.5% more and I have to do a qualification and deal with all the complaints and train people, but apart from that the jobs the same

This.

I wouldn't totally change my work role. But if MW crept close enough to my salary, I would absolutely step down from stress and additional people management. Because why would I continue if I could earn nearly the same on MW with a far easier role in the same industry?

Or move to a company that paid more.

So that would leave the company that you left in a sticky situation - and no longer able to run its business, so it collapses.

@DieStrassensindimmernass was responding to comparisons between nursery nurse/supermarket worker and executive administrator/cleaner.

I'd suggest the qualification/effort gaps between those examples are somewhat less than you were implying.

Why punch down?

The problem isn’t that the minimum wage is getting a buff, it’s that workplaces and employers refuse to acknowledge the hard work and education of those doing more detailed and experience demanding roles.

Don’t get angry at the person taking home the bare basics, be angry that the rest of the working population has been shafted by the system.

Or it just employs someone else who is happy to do the job for the salary on offer.