Rise in living wage

got to be a catch somwhere....

How will this work unless public service wages are increased too, which they wont be. How will we recruit nurses if the starting wage is less than £1/hr more than basic wage?

If feels like a gimmick.

IMO the much LESS simple task of sorting out the rental market would improve more lives

it would make nurses etc worse off than people on min wage once student loan payments are taken away. Nobody will do it.

Its not, IMO the hourly wage that matters in practical terms. Its regional property bubbles, unfair contracts, all that other complex stuff that cant be sorted with one swift action.

Raising the hourly rate alone (without tackling the complex stuff) will force employers to offer fewer full time permanant contracts etc... leaving people worse off than before

In my region, business rates are crippling. Busy/popular businesses are being forced to shut because of rates. They will just fold that bit sooner of wages are raised without the wrap around changes that would support it

You cant solve social issues with one little neat election gimmick like this.

Well as my disabled husbands full time carer I am only entitled to get carers Allowance, which works out at £63 a week. My money has been frozen due to this governments austerity for over 6 years. So I for one would love to have even the minimum hourerly wage that people are paid now for doing the same job I do 24/7.

I broke the law every month by not paying myself the legal minimum wage

Yes me and DH too GillT57 and I don’t think we are in any way unusual .

Just like to point out that £9.61 would not be the highest minimum wage in the world. In Denmark the minimum is the equivalent of £12, 59 at today's rate of exchange.

Perhaps you should take politicians' assurances with a grain of salt.

It was in a newspaper report that the proposed rise to £9.61ph was the highest minimum wage worldwide. It was not quoted as being from the Chancellor.

pita
Yes...it's unfortunate that family caring for family can never be valued on the same pay scale as employees.

Some employers reduce staff hours when the minimum wage goes up.

I'm on £8.30 qualified nursery nurse worked for same place 17 years. Just had rise.

Yes they do happychops.

Philip Hammond can't be so daft that he hasn't thought long and hard about the possible consequences which some posters have mentioned.
Reduced hours, higher prices, small companies just can't afford to pay more and reduced hours means people will turn to top up benefits. Back to square 1.

No one should work full time and struggle to choose between food on the table or a roof over their head. If employers cannot pay a living wage and their employees have to supplement with benefits, they are not fit go be employers. Benefits paid to people who work come from our pockets, meaning we are supplementing the employers who are failing in their responsibilities. However, it is always the employees who are castigated when people moan about benefits, never the employers.

That will be why there is such an (allegedly) black economy. Very few trades people provide invoices and they all want cash in hand. Of course profits will drop and will affect small businesses, a lot are now running as one man bands as they can't afford staff. Dream on!

I work for a charity that pays the Living Wage as a minimum (currently £9 per hour) and I can say with absolute certainty that we will suffer hugely if that rise is put through. There will have to be redundancies.

This is a complete non story, a dead cat, stirring up worries and anxieties needlessly. PH is a dad man walking, This will not happen. God it’s so easy to wind up some people isn’t it? Why not worry about something real that is happening?