National Living Wage

LightFlare

I stand by my original comment that degrading the differential between minimum wage and skilled labour (requiring a degree for entrance and the associated loans etc) is not a good way to improve recruitment 

stu12345_2

so basically all jobs must go up £1.02 in April to keep the gap equal.
I will be checking that my employer does that.as if they don't it's bye bye from me.
at the mo I'm applying for a job that pays £13 an hour and requires a skill and training  which would have paid out by the applicant. and has unsocial hours.
but then you take away tax.ni and at the end of a 39 hour week.it would be almost as good to work in a sweet shop and be home for 530pm., that doesn't require certification and costs and 6 months worth of training.

B0bbyEwing

WooHoo. Looks like my employer is going to be forced to give me a pay rise then. Wonder how late they'll leave it. 

I suspect when the day comes they'll put it forward like "we're going to give you a pay rise".

Yeah...because you have to, not because you choose or want to. 

stu12345_2

I was told that if an employer pays min wage only ,it means they would love you to work for free,but the gov forces them to pay you a wage.

it's not so much they can't afford  a decent pay,it's just they value you so poorly.

Hoenir

stu12345_2 said:

I was told that if an employer pays min wage only ,it means they would love you to work for free,but the gov forces them to pay you a wage.

it's not so much they can't afford  a decent pay,it's just they value you so poorly.

A good employer will ultimately wish to retain valuable employees. Prove your worth and grow within the organisation. It's a two way relationship. Employers are forced to pay wages to less productive employees as well. Dispensing with their services isn't always easy. Not like the US where the jobs market is very much hire and fire. With a Federal minimum wage of $7.25 (£5.75p)  an hour. With minimal employment rights. 

Grumpy_chap

stu12345_2 said:

so basically all jobs must go up £1.02 in April to keep the gap equal.

It doesn't have to work like that.
The statutory change only affects NMW jobs.
Jobs already on a higher rate than the new NMW may stay on the same rate as currently.  OR may get a different adjustment (more or less than the £1.02).
Jobs paying a reasonable amount higher than the new NMW may not be impacted at all by the NMW changes as other factors in the market place have a more dominant influence on any salary changes.

stu12345_2

I understand that grumpy chap,my point is unless current employers raise their wages by £1.02 , it makes their salary seem even less attractive as NMW is them catching them up.

eg my employer pays £11 an hour and is "proud" to boast they pay 58p above NMW at present.but come April ,they should pay £12.02 in order to still boast they are 58p above the new min wage if £11.44.

Savvy_Sue

stu12345_2 said:

I understand that grumpy chap,my point is unless current employers raise their wages by £1.02 , it makes their salary seem even less attractive as NMW is them catching them up.

eg my employer pays £11 an hour and is "proud" to boast they pay 58p above NMW at present.but come April ,they should pay £12.02 in order to still boast they are 58p above the new min wage if £11.44.

What they 'should' do and what they actually do are completely separate matters. 

The only thing they MUST do is pay at least NMW. 

stu12345_2

I once got a call from inland revenue or such like last year doing random checks.they asked things like do I have bag checks,do I do small amounts of forced unpaid overtime at work etc.they were checking to see if employer actually pays a wage that is min wage or above after employer has forced any unpaid work within my daily shift.

I told them my contract states overtime must be agreed in advance.but contract states all tasks must be completed fully per shift. I said I tend to do 10 mins unarranged ,hence unpaid overtime ,3 times a week,in order to complete daily tasks 

B0bbyEwing

stu12345_2 said:

I understand that grumpy chap,my point is unless current employers raise their wages by £1.02 , it makes their salary seem even less attractive as NMW is them catching them up.

eg my employer pays £11 an hour and is "proud" to boast they pay 58p above NMW at present.but come April ,they should pay £12.02 in order to still boast they are 58p above the new min wage if £11.44.

Yep, mine brag they are "competitive". We're still wondering what they're competing with. 

My job itself is probably a tad on the low paid side but not a million miles off what others pay I think. Not sure, I'd need to look more in to it. 

But other departments are heavily underpaid vs what you can get for the same elsewhere & they have a huge turnover. 
Whenever anyone questions it, they're told they should be grateful they even have a job.