The Low Pay Commission (LPC) whose purpose is to provide advice to the Government on matters relating to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will be visiting areas across the UK to gather evidence on the National Minimum Wage and low pay.
The Commission would like to meet a number of people affected by low pay; to hear first-hand what impact the National Minimum Wage is having in the area. Any information received will be treated in confidence.
If you would like to meet LPC Commissioners or would like further information, please get in touch with Roz Hands: rosalind.hands@lowpay.gov.uk; Tel 020 7271 0451 to arrange a convenient time and location.
This essential evidence on low pay across different areas and employment sectors in the UK will help inform our wage rate recommendations to Government.
| Date | Visits Programme Locations |
|---|---|
| 12,13 June | Merseyside, Liverpool |
| 16,17 July | Belfast, Kilkeel, Lisburn |
| 30,31 July | Southampton, Isle of Wight |
| 5,6 August | North Wales (Clwyd West, Vale of Clwyd, Clwyd South, Arfon) |
| 24,25 September | Suffolk, Norfolk |
| 13,14 October | Leeds, York |
| 28,29 October | Aberdeen, North East Scotland |
| 20 November | London |
Minimum wage is doomed to fail. I’ve heard the argument about living standards being maintained, and I agree people should have the opportunity to work and have a better life. Lets look at how minimum wage works in the real world, minimum wage puts the onus on the employer to provide the money to pay the wages from the market. So lets say what if the money is not available from the market? What will the employer do, he’s got to pull out of the market or stop doing that activity or find another method to achieve a job without employment (i.e. automated machines), this will reduce job availability and, to a certain extent, encourage illigal cash type work. This will reduce tax revenues as unemployment increases (due to automated machines) and the employment of cash workers drives an underground workforce. Employers can also find other alternatives to employing, i.e. sub-contracting. So there will be an increase in self-employed workers, which again will drive down tax revenues. Self-employed staff have less protection and no holiday pay / entitlement etc. Those who are not capable of being self-employed will also fall into the trap of being unemployed or unemployable. I think there needs to be an alternative solution? Better controls on imigration and better education.
Speaking from personal experience we find our in market that we cannot find workers with the necessary skills. We have taken on trainees historically and tried to naturally grow our worker base. However the minimum wage we have to pay for a trainee means for a number of years we cannot make a profit on that trainees work. So how is it expected for business to recover the losses on their training? Once a trainee gets a to appoint where we find we start to make a profit, most of our trainees leave for higher paid work with companies which do not train. So sadly at the moment we have ceased employing trainees because they leave to other companies, who to do not train, and due to the econimic climate we cannot afford to pay minimum wage and sustain a loss on employment for 4 – 5 years before that trainee becomes profitable. There needs to be another solution.