Retailers prepare for national minimum wage rise
Posted on in Business News , Political News
The national minimum wage is set to rise by 3% from £6.50 to £6.70 an hour in October, the biggest increase since 2007.
The Low Pay Commission advised that wages should rise by 3 % by the end of the year. Ministers, who normally accept the commission's proposals, will announce their final decision in the next few weeks.
Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said the proposal would be worth £416 a year for a full-time worker on the minimum wage. He said the independent commission had struck "a delicate balance between what is fair for workers and what is affordable for employers, without costing jobs".
Mr Cable added: "The value of the minimum wage would be higher than when we came to office in 2010 and we are now making good progress towards restoring the value it lost during the financial crisis."
The news comes with a global focus on wages, with US giant Walmart announcing that it will be improving wages for over 500,000 of its hourly employees. The company's President and CEO, Doug McMillon, stressed the importance of retailers caring for all employees in a letter posted to Walmart's blog:
"Today's cashiers will be tomorrow's store or club managers. Today's managers are tomorrow's vice presidents. Tomorrow's CEO will almost definitely come from inside our company" McMillon said. News of Walmart's development and debates over the UK wage system is putting pressure on British retailers to follow suit.
The government is also cracking down on any businesses that have underpaid workers. 70 employers were "named and shamed" having been fined a total of £70,000 for paying workers less than the legal minimum. They owed their employees a total of more than £157,000. East Midlands Crossroads, a care provider, owed £37,500 to 184 workers; Delcom Systems in Salisbury owed £11,730; the Apostolic Church in London £8,300 and Young Friends Nursery in Hove £6,700.