Employers expecting people to work for £6.50 an hour!!

DCFC79

I work for about £6.15 an hour and ive no problem with it, id like more but i dont think the owner is willing to give me the rise that im due

jezebel

Googlewhacker wrote: »

I still maintain that if you want better wages then you have to further yourself in education/apprenticeship etc

Whilst I don't disagree that in the majority of cases an education is a good thing, there are a lot of graduates leaving Uni this year that won't be able to find jobs, NMW or not. My first job post Uni was on £12k (which was fine for me at the time as I lived with my 'rents and had little in the way of bills etc).

An education is a good thing, but it doesn't guarantee you employment. I've learned over the last eight years or so that it's also down to hard work and often luck to getting the jobs that are available unless you are one of the few bright sparks that is able to make the opportunities (eg set up a business etc).

ETA: I wonder how the OP would feel about working on an apprentice salary which is approx. half of the NMW!

deutsch

National Minimum wage:
October 2007 - £5.52
October 2008 - £5.73 – 3.80% rise
October 2009 - £5.80 – 1.22% rise
October 2010 - £5.93 – 2.24% rise
Inflation:
April 2007 – CPI 2.8% / RPI 4.5%
April 2008 – CPI 3% / RPI 4.2%
April 2009 – CPI 2.3% / RPI -1.2%
April 2010 – CPI 3.7% / RPI 5.3%

Life is unfair at times.

Britain doesn't have much going for the future. The younger generation are forgotten about. Education is not everything. Potential is wasted and ambition is lost.

joemaddog

£6.50 an hour is ok. I'd work for £5ph right now.

Timalay

joemaddog wrote: »

£6.50 an hour is ok. I'd work for £5ph right now.

I'd work for anything thats more money than signing on.

V_Chic_Chick

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

You have obviously never heard of tax credits!

Which basically don't exist for those under 25 who haven't had children. Somehow they seem to expect me to be able to live on £6000/year :eek: (+ housing & council tax benefit (though only for a bedsit / shared accommodation) if I could actually afford to live away from home).

Seeing as people under 25 pay tax just like everyone else, I think it's plain wrong not to pay Working Tax Credit etc.

PS I would dearly love to be on £6.50ph

Person_one

V_Chic_Chick wrote: »

Which basically don't exist for those under 25 who haven't had children. Somehow they seem to expect me to be able to live on £6000/year :eek: (+ housing & council tax benefit (though only for a bedsit / shared accommodation) if I could actually afford to live away from home).

Seeing as people under 25 pay tax just like everyone else, I think it's plain wrong not to pay Working Tax Credit etc.

PS I would dearly love to be on £6.50ph

I agree with you, I don't think its right at all to have benefits based on age. It just seems so obviously discriminatory, I feel the same about having a lower NMW for younger workers.

emilyteach1

Person_one wrote: »

I agree with you, I don't think its right at all to have benefits based on age. It just seems so obviously discriminatory, I feel the same about having a lower NMW for younger workers.

I kind of agree with; or can at least understand; the fact that under 18s are paid less, but I can't comprehend the logic behind the full NMW not having to be paid until your 22nd birthday.

I don't really see what sets a 21+ apart from an 18+. Many 18+'s are entirely independent, living away from home and paying their way. Many aren't, of course, but that can apply to over 21's aswell!

Reggie_Rebel

Prt of the problem is that NuLabour lowered education standards so much that you get all the graduates coming onto the job market with their Desmond's and still expect to earn the big dosh

Person_one

emilyteach1 wrote: »

I kind of agree with; or can at least understand; the fact that under 18s are paid less, but I can't comprehend the logic behind the full NMW not having to be paid until your 22nd birthday.

I don't really see what sets a 21+ apart from an 18+. Many 18+'s are entirely independent, living away from home and paying their way. Many aren't, of course, but that can apply to over 21's aswell!

Many 16 year olds are also fully independent, living away from parents or guardians and paying their way. At 16 you are allowed to work full time and pay tax, get married, live in social housing etc.

If we're going to let 16 year olds live and work as adults then we should give them the same rewards for their hard work as adults rather than a situation where they are earning less than the 30 year old 5 feet away doing exactly the same job.