Min wage £10 per hour?

[monkeysox]

In an ideal world it would of course be better if the lowest pair were no longer reliant on tax credits etc.
How would businesses afford this?
If makes a mockery of skilled trades who are paid just over this rate now (north)
What aspiration would there be for young people to learn a trade (think electricians or similar) when they could get £10 per hour stacking shelves for example.

I don't agree with what the tories have done to education and NHS bus this labour policy seems poorly thought out.

A £10 min wage would mean I'd have to let go of one of my members of staff. Things are tight as it is. I love them all so how would I choose who goes?

Our rent and rates increases, the tax we pay increases, our suppliers get more expensive.

For what was once a 'Nation of Shopkeepers'; it's becoming impossible to continue.

Worth mentioning that I only get paid more than my staff members because I work more hours.

A £10 minimum wage is £2.50 more than the current minimum wage.

So if we assume an eight hour day, £20 more a day.

£100 more a week.

Yes, that is a living wage.

I guess it's nicer for the employers to rely on tax credits though. Except if you don't have children, you'll struggle.

Some of the wealthiest people I know are owners of care homes and nurseries

I am pretty certain that many of these businesses could shoulder the burden of increasing their staffs wages.

Similarly if the minimum wage is increased then all staff up to a certain point e.g national average salary should also get an increase. How on earth is it fair that a person who is highly trained and experienced only earns marginally more than someone at entry level.

Pink I think you're tarring all employers with the same brush here.

I agree Tax Credits have a part in keeping wages low. I thought they were flawed to begin with. But I don't think all employers rely on employees to top up their income on tax credits.

So many factors come into it like Troll just said "Our rent and rates increases, the tax we pay increases, our suppliers get more expensive." This is so very true. The amount of money shop owners have to make before they even open the doors is eye watering. I don't know how they survive tbh.

The Public Sector don't rely on tax credits. Their staff wages are lower so your council tax doesn't rise and your services aren't cut (although to be fair you wouldn't think so!)

I think everyone is feeling the pinch somewhere and it's too simple to just say "employers rely on tax credits." A lot of employers aren't rolling around in money whilst the minions are hard at work.

In care homes, the cost of paying the staff more is passed on to the clients. My father is in care with advanced dementia. We have used all his savings - not much- and are now selling his ex-council house. The care home is always short staffed yet we pay thousands of pounds a month for this "care" we got a letter last month to say his bills were going up by 28% to cover increased wages! So we are footing that bill, not the owner.

I understand that NoMud but there does have to be a bottom line if you like. It isn't good enough for a business - any business - to blithely say 'oh, well we can't afford that' WRT staffing.

As for care homes, well care assistants deserve a fuck of a lot more than minimum wage.

Maybe if careworkers for paid the money they deserve the care home wouldn't be so short staffed.

Got paid*

Oh, I absolutely agree that care workers should be paid more. They do a difficult and demanding job and some of them are lovely with dad, others not so much! But it shouldn't fall on already stretched families to find that salary!

There does seem to be a huge discrepancy between expectations of what is a successful business. Particularly in the care home industry.

For example: for me a successful business is one that isn't incurring lots of debt, that pays its bills and staff every month, the owner gets paid and everyone is secure.

However, a lot of businesspeople refuse to run a business unless they are making a substantial profit. They don't care whether they have to liquidate the assets or whether the staff get paid.

Recently the only care home in our area was closed because it 'wasn't making enough money'. A quick search through companies house shows that is was consistently in profit... however, this was not enough of a profit for the people who owned it.

There's a lack of pride in running a business these days. You're deemed a failure or a beginner if it's not worth ££££. There's so much to be said for stability and consistency.

min wage would not need to be so high if rents were not outrangous right now most people are spending 80%+ of their total income on housing when years ago most were only paying 30% or less.

the only thing that appears to raise year on year is food prices and bloody rent, but limiting rent raises would cause landlord to go up in arms about comminism etc so never going to change.

Even flooding the country with houses wont work as people will still flood to london / south east or which would happen would northern house prices to fall while having minium effect in london

I'm in the care sector too. Complex skilled work but close to minimum wage.

I absolutely agree that those who have the responsibility of caring for others should be paid a decent living wage. I cannot understand how care fees can be so much and yet the staff are paid a pittance and patients are not always treated well. Someone is getting is getting rich out of this that's for sure.

I agree the societal value of care work isn't reflected in the bean-counter mentality of care work provider companies.

Sadly because of low-cost preferences over high integrity preferences, care companies are often businesses who are contract/loophole exploiters and low wage payers to make their money, because they can't adequately build quality in.

There should be an ethical employment requirement in government and NHS contract tenders.

£10 minimum wage,
Free school dinners for Juniors
4 extra bank holidays per year....

All great blue sky thinking views but, with less than 50% of the electorate paying income tax how is it funded?

Colleagues at my local chamber of commerce will have to let people go, if implemented, they've said anecdotally.

There should be an ethical employment requirement in government and NHS contract tenders.

^
This

I've met scores of the kind of crappy businesses who join chambers of commerce, and complain about having to pay staff reasonable wages whilst running godawful businesses in markets that are clearly served better by nearly all competitors and shops in say high income luxury good areas who sell shit stuff and wonder why the world doesn't come running, or bad hairdressers in a unit perfectly suited to tea and cakes etc etc
Frankly if their business plan can't let staff live i have no worries about them going to the wall.

If MW went up to £10 an hour and our salary didn't people on entry level for my job would be working for less than MW as we are salaried. That is not down to us, it would be down to the government who sets our wages. We don't get holiday pay as it is so it'd just be another way our job breaks the rules that were put in place to protect workers.

The company I work for made millions of pounds profit last year (and every year) yet I can't live on the wages they pay me... £10 an hour would be fantastic for me.

I can't decide whether this is a good idea - I'm all for £10/hour being a minimum wage, but, I do fear it'll inflate prices. For the skilled people earning just over £10/hour, it would be no bad thing if it logically forced those people to put wage pressure on their bosses.

That said, I remember when the first Minimum Wage was introduced, the main fear was that this would result in higher unemployment. There is a point at which you either force businesses into doing more cash in hand, or folding.

We will only see when it's implemented whether we are at that point for some sectors.

One squeeze I would anticipate from this policy - what about all the childcare workers earning less than £10/hour? What if working parents suddenly have their nursery bills increasing £100-200 per month?

One squeeze I would anticipate from this policy - what about all the childcare workers earning less than £10/hour? What if working parents suddenly have their nursery bills increasing £100-200 per month?

The rent controls, and the energy capping will at least go towards some of those costs, and hopefully the reopening of some sure start centres