Why do people only pay the minimum wage

lemonjelly

tomterm8 wrote: »

Thanks. That's interesting. I went off the HMRC website http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/nmw/. After all you would have thought the organisation tasked with enforcing the national minimum wage would know what it was.

Yes, I was suprised.

I did a double take when I saw that & started to doubt myself. So had to check!

http://www.lowpay.gov.uk/


http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/employment/employees/pay/dg_10027201

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

stringsmk2 wrote: »

I was therefore wondering why they couldn't just pay him, say, 6.50 or 7 an hour?

It would really make no difference at all to the bottom line, but you'd have a very happy employee who would take even more pride in his job and feel worthwhile.

On an individual basis, you're right.

Assuming the company is one of any real size and scale, changing the wage of one employee will hardly register on the bottom line at all.

The problem is more one of fairness and employee relations.

Because whilst changing one employee salary makes little difference, changing everyone elses doing the same or a similarly paid job really adds up quickly.

The figures you suggest are around a 30% pay rise.

Labour costs in a company will often be 30% or more of turnover, whilst net profit at the end of the year can be under 10% of turnover.

I assume you can see the challenge in such a scenario of raising labour costs from 30% of turnover to say, 40% of turnover, which would eliminate the profit for the business owner.

bendix

The_White_Horse wrote: »

cleaners should be glad they get over inflated salary they do. if they took away the minimum wage and actually made most of the benefit scrounger brigade work, they would be lucky to get £1 an hour.

they are ten a penny no skill jobs that a 5 yr old could do. how much do they want????

Utterly stupid post.

I'm increasingly convinced you are actually a Labour supporter who adopts this tone in a pretty subtle attempt to portray your views as typical of conservative, libertarian thinking.

tomterm8

I don't think the white horse actually belongs to a political party, I think he just does it to wind people up.

ukcarper

tomterm8 wrote: »

I don't think the white horse actually belongs to a political party, I think he just does it to wind people up.

I think you are probably right lets hope so anyway.

chewmylegoff

i reckon the white horse is long term unemployed with about 15 kids running around a 4 story tax payer funded mansion in westminster. he's just a bit bored, bless.

doire_2

Old_Slaphead wrote: »

Get up of your backside and do it yourself (kick the cleaner up the backside that is)

:rotfl:Its a woman though

ILW

doire wrote: »

:rotfl:Its a woman though

I think women do have backsides.

misskool

interestingly, people pay their personal household cleaners more.
http://www.house-cleaning-uk.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=171

I've seen rates of up to £15/hour.

Malcolm.

lemonjelly wrote: »

They increased on 1 October tomterm8. What you posted applied to the rates as of 1 October 2009.

From 1 October 2010 the rates are:

Current NMW rates

There are different levels of NMW, depending on your age and whether you are an apprentice. The current rates are:

• £5.93 - the main rate for workers aged 21 and over
• £4.92 - the 18-20 rate
• £3.64 - the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18
• £2.50 - the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

The age at which you become entitled to the main rate was reduced from 22 to 21 on 1 October 2010. The apprentice rate was introduced on the same date.

<Cynic alert!>Interesting that the HMRC website hasn't updated this information

Isn't this age discrimination at it's finest? Wage (and by association minimum wage) should depend upon the job, and an individuals experience, not their age.

Shame on you government.