[The Economy] 6.2% living wage increase

Miiade

The rise of wages at the bottom should be welcomed as a good thing and will help lift living standards. What I have noticed about the job market is that although wages have risen at the bottom for the next level of management wages are actually falling or flat.

At my place of work a first level manager is only getting an extra 5k a year to look after 20 staff when previously they were getting an extra 10-15k. At my partners place a supervisor in charge of 15 staff gets an extra 80p an hour, for her personally it’s not enough for the extra work involved.

As boomers on high wages retire I envisage firms getting staff in at lower wage levels to do these jobs or simply not replacing them.

Eventually you might actually have a more equal society with most jobs unless really specialist paying more or less similar money. Some may see this as as either good or bad, but I think it’s the way the economy is going.

michaels

It is not as if we haven't already seen hundreds of thousands of jobs lost in retail and casual dining and no doubt this will push a few more over the edge. So 95% of those on minimum wage will benefit whilst 5% will be unemployed. Is that a price worth paying?

ruperts

Rocksolid wrote: »

I'm not British, but this will work only in one way and for the following reasons.
Everywhere is the same story, they raise the minimum living wage, and alongside house prices and rents plus bills eventually.
Then, you see always the same movie, bosses with Bugatti and the 99% of employees of the big !!! companies working for the minimum, plus properties, tons of shares, even plots on the moon.


Whatever you wanna say about this, let it be, it's a loss of time.

You might not be aware that the minimum wage has been rising ahead of inflation in Britain for about ten consecutive years. The pro-business lobby said it would cause high inflation, but it hasn't. They said it would cause high unemployment, but it hasn't.

Rocksolid

ruperts wrote: »

You might not be aware that the minimum wage has been rising ahead of inflation in Britain for about ten consecutive years. The pro-business lobby said it would cause high inflation, but it hasn't. They said it would cause high unemployment, but it hasn't.

I've mentioned the house market, the rent and bills.
Consumer prices are way more complicated.

What you have mentioned is politics.

PasturesNew

While the wife of the boss is out tossing away money buying another £15k handbag she'll never use... the boss is at work turning down a worker's request for an extra 50p/hour, "we can't afford it"

michaels

ruperts wrote: »

You might not be aware that the minimum wage has been rising ahead of inflation in Britain for about ten consecutive years. The pro-business lobby said it would cause high inflation, but it hasn't. They said it would cause high unemployment, but it hasn't.

Nope, and we haven't seen carnage on the High street in retail and casual dining, sectors where increasing the minimum wage has literally priced people out of their jobs. I know that you don't value these jobs as they don't 'pay enough' and 'need govt top up' but those who had them and lost them and those who will lose them with the latest increase will have their lives upended. Collateral damage?

Zero_Sum

michaels wrote: »

Nope, and we haven't seen carnage on the High street in retail and casual dining, sectors where increasing the minimum wage has literally priced people out of their jobs. I know that you don't value these jobs as they don't 'pay enough' and 'need govt top up' but those who had them and lost them and those who will lose them with the latest increase will have their lives upended. Collateral damage?

Most of the McDonalds staff round my way are teenagers getting £4.35 p/h
And i reckon a fair chunk of high street retail jobs are done by under 25's

Jonathan_Kelvin

CreditCardChris wrote: »

No, but I understand it's probably tough and there's not much profit for these business owners but that's why I'm asking what do these small business see as the solution?

There seems to be two options, to keep people on low incomes when the price of living and rent continues to rise, or suck it up and find ways to optimise your business.

There is a level of minimum wage increase that would see huge job losses £30 per hour would do that), and there’s a level that businesses can either absorb or pass on to their customers, as all of their competitors are in the same boat, and there will not be much decrease in demand at the higher price, but it’s hard to know at what level it starts being a problem.

When I worked for the council we employed someone full-time to sweep the yard, and do the odd bit of tidying. He had special educational needs, and was not really needed, but it kept him busy and happy, and off the dole, so no-one minded signing off the expense. He was the sort of person that would be likely the first to go if the minimum wage grows too much, along with other vulnerable people who are at best marginally positive value to employers.

Jonathan_Kelvin

MaxiRobriguez wrote: »

You could target the actual cost of living rather than income.

People on NMW are more likely to be renters. Rent costs are high and landlords for the last 20 years have made a pretty profit from their endeavours. Perhaps rent controls would do more good for these people than bumping their wages and seeing inflation in tow.

I’ve a very nice, large family home back in the town where I grew up, which I don’t want to occupy yet. It’s rented out to a nice family who have no interest in buying, and I make just enough to make it worth my while to rent out.

Decrease the rent that I can charge, increase the tax, or reduce the allowance to charge for damage, and I’ll not rent it out again when the current family leave, as it would not be worth it to me.

Net effect would be one house off the market, one less property available for people to live in.

You have to be very wary of the unintended consequences of acting to “fix” a problem.

Thrugelmir

michaels wrote: »

It is not as if we haven't already seen hundreds of thousands of jobs lost in retail and casual dining and no doubt this will push a few more over the edge. So 95% of those on minimum wage will benefit whilst 5% will be unemployed. Is that a price worth paying?

160,000 jobs lost in retail last year. This year maybe even tougher.