National Living Wage to cost businesses £11bn by 2020, report warns May 4, 2016 Businesses will have to stump up much as £11bn in extra wage costs over the next four years to meet the chancellor's National Living Wage (NLW) target of £9 per hour, new research has warned. The report, by property firm Bilfinger GVA, estimates that the new hourly rate of £7.20 per hour for over 25 year olds will cost businesses around [...]
The government’s restaurant tipping crackdown is a far worse idea than you think May 4, 2016 Not content with setting the wages in future of up to 20 per cent of the private sector workforce through its National Living Wage, the government has now decided to clamp down on tipping practices in restaurants – opening up a new front in pay regulation. The business secretary Sajid Javid wants steps taken to [...]
The apprenticeship levy could be a disaster May 4, 2016 Manufacturers have a strong track record and a vested interest in providing quality apprenticeships in the UK. Which is why it’s worth listening when they say that there are serious flaws in the Government’s new apprenticeship levy that could derail the scheme when it is rolled-out. In its current state the levy will be detrimental [...]
Even the national living wage can’t stop shops from cutting prices May 4, 2016 Prices on the high-street fell in April, despite the introduction of the living wage, according to the latest shop price index from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), published today. Retailers cut prices by 1.7 per cent over the past year — the same rate of discounting as a month earlier and the 36th consecutive period of falling [...]
The National Living Wage is having an unexpected effect on salaries, according to this research May 3, 2016 The chancellor's recent decision to hike the National Living Wage may have been widely praised by equality campaigners – but it turns out it could be having an unexpected effect on salaries. Research by CV-Library has suggested the average UK salary for new jobs actually fell in April, when the minimum wage became the National [...]
One more survey that shows the living wage and Brexit fears are hitting hiring May 3, 2016 Brexit fears and the introduction of the national living wage are holding down pay and stopping firms from taking on staff, the latest jobs report from Adzuna suggests. The online recruiters said that advertised salaries for vacancies in the UK stood at £33,815 in March — down two per cent on last year — while [...]
Businesses rattled as latest survey points to an economic slowdown May 3, 2016 Business confidence has plummeted during the last few months due to severe volatility on the financial markets, the approaching EU referendum and the introduction of the national living wage, according to a new survey out today. The latest confidence monitor from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and Grant Thornton, fell [...]
Pizza chain Zizzi to cut staff perks in wake of the National Living Wage April 25, 2016 Zizzi's staff have had their perks cut as the National Living Wage puts a strain on the business. The private-equity owned restaurant chain has become the latest business to respond to changes in the minimum wage. Waiting staff have had their free meal choices limited while a cap has been imposed on how much they can earn from [...]
Consumer confidence the worst in London, according to report by Deloitte April 25, 2016 London consumer confidence is the lowest in the UK according to a report by Deloitte released today. Against a backdrop of falling confidence across the country, London scored the worst in the first three months of 2016 with job security confidence falling six per cent and disposable income confidence down nine per cent. According to [...]
Number of care homes going bust rises by more than a third in the last three years as national living wage is set to put more strain on the sector April 25, 2016 The number of care homes going bust has risen 34 per cent in the last three years, according to research by accountancy firm Moore Stephens. The report found that the government’s introduction of a mandatory national living wage from April this year is set to put more financial strain on the sector as staff costs [...]