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18 Apr 2024

Independent record stores around the country are preparing to celebrate all things vinyl for this year’s Record Store Day on Saturday April 20th. 

18 Apr 2024

BIRA, the British Independent Retailers Association, has announced its partnership with this year’s SME National Business Awards., joining the 2024 awards as a leading sponsor, backing...

18 Apr 2024

A Midlands fish and chip shop is celebrating 40 years in business and offering half-price chips to mark the milestone.

18 Apr 2024

Assaulting a shop worker is to be made a separate criminal offence in England and Wales as part of a government response to a wave of retail crime. 

18 Apr 2024

Eleven new businesses that have opened in the last year in the historic arcades of Cardiff city centre’s Morgan Quarter, made up of the Morgan and Royal arcades, have helped the arcades...

15 Apr 2024

The Rediscovery Centre, the National Centre for the Circular Economy in Ireland, today announced its partnership with Cytech, the internationally recognised training and accreditation scheme for...

3 Apr 2024

Research by the University of Stirling and the Scottish Grocers’ Federation has shed light on the impact of rising staff costs on the convenience retail sector in Scotland.

3 Apr 2024

With large national chains increasingly disappearing from the high street, Drapers magazine has been looking at how independent department stores are stepping up their offerings to...

2 Apr 2024

The Baking Industry Awards return for their 37th year and are once again ready to recognise and reward the very best people, products, and businesses in the sector. The awards showcase the...

2 Apr 2024

Walsall's cycling community has been celebrating a family-owned business which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
 

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Minimum wage rises for two million workers

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News , Political News

About two cashmillion of the UK's lowest-paid workers will get a pay rise from Thursday as the minimum wage goes up.

The National Living Wage will rise 2.2% to £8.91, the equivalent of more than £345 a year for a full-time employee.

It will also be given to 23 and 24-year-olds for the first time, not just those aged 25 and over.

Statutory rates for apprentices and those aged between 18 and 22 will also rise, along with the voluntary "Real Living Wage".

However, hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers on furlough will see no uplift at all after they were excluded.

Ministers said the increases to minimum wages would particularly benefit workers in sectors such as retail, hospitality, cleaning and maintenance.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it would be "a welcome boost to families right across the UK".

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng urged "all workers" to check their pay packets to ensure they were "getting what they are entitled to, and remind employers of their duty to pay the correct wage".

 

Minimum wage increases from 1 April:

  • From £8.72 to £8.91 an hour for workers over the age of 23
  • From £8.20 to £8.36 for those aged 21-22
  • From £6.45 to £6.56 for 18 to 20-year-olds
  • From £4.55 to £4.62 for under-18s
  • From £4.15 to £4.30 for apprentices


The voluntary Real Living Wage will rise to £10.85 an hour in London and £9.50 outside the capital, but only a small minority of employers have signed up to pay it.

The foundation promoting it warned there was still a "substantial gap" between the statutory rates and one based on the actual cost of living.

Increased cash incentives for employers to hire new apprentices kick in today

In addition to the increase in national living wage, the government also recently introduced new funding grants during the pandemic for employers taking on new apprentices, meaning that they could now receive up to £4,000 per apprentice.

During the recent Budget at the beginning of March Sunak announced an extension and increase to current apprenticeship incentives, so that from today (1st April 2021) until 30th September 2021 employers who take on a new apprentice of any age will receive an incentive payment of £3,000, superseding the current incentives.

This is in addition to the pre-existing £1,000 payment already provided for new apprentices aged 16 to 18 and those under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan, meaning that some employers could receive £4,000 in total and on top of having the majority of training funded by the government, meaning it has never been a better time to employ an apprentice.

The extended and increased payments will have the potential to be both transformational for young people and employers alike.

Alongside a much-needed cash boost for businesses, the scheme encourages employers to grow their own talent, creating some amazing opportunities for people to start a rewarding career within the cycling industry.

Read up on how you can take on Cytech qualified bicycle technician apprentices now 

 

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