Living Wage?

[mushroom25]

an increase in the minimum wage announced, although needs to be set against cuts in benefits payments.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33437115

A living wage?

[Old_Geezer]

This was confusing me. There was an increase in the living wage announced, not the minimum wage, so how does that affect anything ?

[mushroom25]

what is now the minimum wage, £6.50 an hour, will be replaced next year by a payment starting at £7.20 an hour, rising to £9.00 by 2020. the chancellor called it a "living wage". but is it?

[Gromit]

He has pledged to move us from a low wage economy to a high wage economy. I hope he succeeds, but I would rate the chances of that happening at less than zero.

[youngmafbog]

So would you rather he didnt try Gromit?

[mikey4444]

I couldn't give a monkeys what Osborne calls it...minimum or "living"....it makes no difference.

If the minimum wage is going to increase from £6.50 an hour, to £7.20 an hours as from next April, than that has to be welcomed. Its not enough but its start.

But, as Mush says, this modest rise of 70p an hour may be wiped out by welfare cuts, so some people may be less well off as a result. Seems like sleight of hand to me.

[youngmafbog]

On your rush to slam wefare cuts you havr forgotten rises in tax allowance.
anyway do you honestly beleive the gov should find large corps like tesco who pay so little the tax oayer has to effectivley subsidise them?

[LyndaB]

I work fir a company that pays just over the minimum wage. When it goes up next year, hours will be cut to pay for it so none of us will be better off

[youngmafbog]

That may well be possible for some companies but fir most they will still need a workforce of a certain size to function. Most will simply fire a manager to pay for it.

[mushroom25]

the chancellor's speech included a recognition that imposing a higher compulsory minimum hourly rate might have an effect on jobs; the cut in corporation tax to 19% in 2017 was (in part) intended to offset that.

[youngmafbog]

For very small companies less than 15 people it may be a problem. For larger companies with a managemt structure it does not make sense to sack the workforce over management

[ummmm]

What is a living wage?

I know for certain that we don't need to earn as much as our neighbours, just to live.

[TWR]

But Items keep going up in price Ummmm, if the put a curb on that, I'm sure thing would stabilize.

[naomi24]

//hours will be cut to pay for it so none of us will be better off//

If that's true it means the company won't get the job done so it's doubtful that will happen. If businesses are to survive they will have no alternative but to pass the cost on to the consumer. Everything has to be paid for in one way or another.

[ummmm]

What is going up, TWR, besides rents?

[TWR]

Foods / Heating / Fuels / all see to creep up, or is that not so?

[EDDIE51]

If you are on a low wage and getting working tax credit, it will be reduced £ for £ for any increase in earnings. So for most people the increase in the minimum wage (no matter what it is called) make no difference to take home pay. Yet again just political point scoring.

[ummmm]

Well I have a Tesco shop being delivered today. Fruit and veg are as cheap as chips.

I'm £1,444 in credit on my fuel bills.

I'm going back to Ireland next month for the staggering cost of £100.

[ummmm]

That's for two people.`

[naomi24]

Eddie, //Yet again just political point scoring//

No. The idea is to shift the burden from the public purse - and that's what's being done.