society. The review urged the government to assess its knowledge base and the quality of data used when assessing the impacts of minimum wage.
The LPC also published two separate reports on this subject matter and one related to The National Living Wage Beyond 2020. This report contains the guidance that was provided to the government in relation to abolishing low pay in the UK whilst maintaining levels of employment. The other report was entitled A Review of the Youth Rates of the National Minimum Wage and this contains evidence relating to why the National Living Wage should be accessible to everybody from the age of 21, and not just to those over the age of 25, in line with how it is currently paid.
CIPP comment
We welcome the cautionary note ‘that there should be procedures in place so that the Low Pay Commission (LPC) can recalculate the NLW in the event of unforeseen circumstances which could be counterproductive to increasing the NLW or if the increase to the NLW started to have any undesirable effects on wider society.’
We look forward also to reading the Low Pay Commission 2019 Annual Report which has been the latest casualty to Election Purdah which has caused a delay to publication.
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The Living Wage Foundation celebrate Living Wage Week 2019 13 November 2019
The Living Wage Foundation launched Living Wage Week with the publication of Real Living rates for 2019/2020.
The UK Living Wage hourly rate has seen a 30p increase to £9.30 and the London Living Wage hourly rate has benefitted with an increase of 20p to £10.75.
Living Wage Foundation Director, Katherine Chapman commented “In this time of uncertainty today’s new Living Wage rates give a boost to hundreds of thousands of UK workers. Good businesses know that the real Living Wage means happier, healthier and more motivated workers, and that providing workers with financial security is not only the right thing to do but has real business benefits. This year for the first-time cities and towns have announced big plans to grow the number of Living Wage Employers in their communities. We are delighted at the ambition of Cardiff and Salford to build Living Wage cities, with Cardiff planning to double the number of workers getting the real Living Wage to nearly 50,000, freeing many more families from the low pay trap. We hope to see many more towns and cities follow suit.” Over 210,000 workers will benefit from this increase to rate with the Living Wage Foundation reporting that the increase will widen the difference between the real Living Wage and the minimum wage to over £2,000 UK wide and almost £5,000 in London.
KPMG recently published research findings revealing:
• Less than one-fifth (19%) of UK jobs pay below the real Living Wage • The latest estimate is down from 22% last year and the lowest since 2012 • Part-time workers are three times more likely to be paid below the threshold of £9.00 (or £10.55 in London) • All UK regions experience a drop in the share of jobs paying below the real Living Wage • Around 24% of women face in-work poverty compared to 15% of men • Female in-work poverty is highest in the East Midlands and lowest in Scotland
Commenting on the findings, James Stewart, Vice Chair of KPMG UK, said:
“The Brexit impasse has undoubtedly impacted the jobs market and it is clear that employers have stepped up and taken decisive action to retain and motivate their workforces.
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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