NMW rise highlights importance of independence for LPC
Responding to the government’s announcement of the increases in the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates Helen Dickinson, director general BRC, said: “Many retailers have already prepared for above inflationary rises in the levels of NMW. The increase in the headline rate will help many employees across the country who have seen their incomes increasingly squeezed in recent times. The retail industry has been supporting ordinary people with the cost of living as shop prices have been falling for two years. The industry also pays the vast majority of its workers well above NMW.
“However, we do have some concerns about the government’s approach to raising the apprenticeship rate. The retail industry employs almost 20% of the UK’s apprentices and while our research shows that use of the apprenticeship rate is not widespread in the retail industry, the LPC’s independence and recommendations are as important to workers as they are to business. They guarantee that those on minimum wage get the fair increases they deserve while ensuring that business and the economy are not damaged by the wage rises. Any significant departure from the recommendations, arrived at after rigorous independent interrogation of evidence from diverse sources, risks upsetting the fine balance struck by the LPC and potentially negatively impacting workers, the economy or both.”
