April 2019 NLW and NMW rates
Posted on in Business News , Political News
The Low Pay Commission report 2018 has been published providing evidence and rationale behind the recommendations for National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NWM) rates to apply from April 2019.
The Government has set a target to reach 60% of median earning by 2020 for the NLW. The Low Pay Commission's (LPC) remit is to make recommendations that reach the target and to raise pay as high as possible without damaging employment prospects. The recommendations for this year have taken place against various policy changes within the Government, most notably the ongoing Brexit negotiations and the lead up to the UK's exit from the EU in 2019.
The report not only provides recommendations but evaluates the impacts of the NLW until now with findings that suggest that as many as 5 million people benefitted from the increase in April 2018.
The report in acknowledging ACS's research, highlights that certain sectors, including retail, may be disproportionately affected by increase in the NLW. As a means of managing the impact of increased wage rates, convenience retailers are reducing the number of hours that they employ staff for (65%) as well as increasing the number of hours that they work (60%).
Analysis, however, did not find any clear evidence to suggest that the increases in NLW had negatively affected employment and therefore the evidence provided resulted in the LPC recommending that the NLW remain on its paths to 60% of median earnings by 2020, with an increase of 4.9% to £8.21 an hour in April 2019.
Read the Low Pay Commission's full report for 2018 here.
Read the ACS' response to the Low pay Commission report 2018 here.