Is it legal that the NMW is lower than the benefits cap?

FBaby

What needs doing is stop families claiming tax credits working only 24 hours. People shouldn't be sanction if they reduce their hours voluntarily to substitude their wage with tax credits. Tax credits should only be available when one of the partner works full-time when children are under 5 and both working full-time afterwards.

zagfles

StormyWeather wrote: »

That's the problem. The number and type of jobs that offer NMW or near NMW seems to have increased. It should really be for totally unskilled, low experience, student type employment.

Something needs to be done. I don't know what.

That's the problem with any sort of minimum, maximum, limit etc. It soon becomes a target rather than a limit. Like with the 48h max in the working time directive.

Also in the downturn a lot of companies had wage freezes or very low pay pots - but they had to increase those on NMW in line with NMW increases so that has brought people who were previous paid more than NMW onto the NMW.

BigAunty

FBaby wrote: »

What needs doing is stop families claiming tax credits working only 24 hours. People shouldn't be sanction if they reduce their hours voluntarily to substitude their wage with tax credits. Tax credits should only be available when one of the partner works full-time when children are under 5 and both working full-time afterwards.

Blimey - do you remember when WTC for 2 parents was just 16 hours?! 212,000 2 parent households where one worked just 2 days a week even if their children were teenagers.

Remember how much outrage and howling there was when it was increased by 8 hours? The cheek, expecting one of the parents to work 3 days a week.....!!

bigk77irl

Morlock wrote: »

The Tories 'Make Work Pay' mantra is not about raising wages, but cutting benefits. Of course work will pay if the alternative is nothing.

"Make Work Pay, Because Something Is Better Than Nothing"

Surely to make work pay then the benefits cap MUST be lower than the minimum wage? No....slavery still exists with the combo of NMW and Zero hours contract which means employers are using it increasingly more and more to cut ever increasing costs!!!!