Minimum Wage Increase Boosts The Low Paid But Some Businesses Raise Concerns

Yesterday, April 1st, saw a rise in the minimum wage from £10.42 an hour to £11.44 an hour. Also, where previously you had to be 23 and over to qualify for the National Living Wage, this has now been brought down to 21 and over.

Rise In The Minimum Wage A Boost To Around 1 In 8 Workers

It is estimated that around 1 in 8 workers in Northern Ireland will be affected by this rise in the minimum wage, which will come as a big boost to them. However there are many businesses who say that these additional costs will put even more pressure on them and that they will have to pass these extra costs on to consumers.

Here is what Michael Stewart, director of Common Market bar, said in an article on the BBC News website about the raising of the National Living Wage:

“Everyone deserves a fair wage and most employers support the increase in minimum wage but that comes with a warning that these costs have to be paid for.

“If you take a small company like ourselves we have 10 staff, that equates to an additional £23,000 a year of an increase – you multiply that for bigger companies and that’s a lot of money that has to be paid somehow.

“You either absorb it which has become more difficult because of rising costs, or you have to pass it on and that will mean higher prices in all shapes and forms for customers.”

We Know Low Pay Is An Issue In Northern Ireland

On the other side of the coin low paid workers will be very happy with this increase in their pay packets at a time when there are huge cost of living pressures on many households. Here is what Dr Lisa Wilson, from the Nevin Economic Research Institute, said about this in the same website article:

“It has been a monumental benefit to the economy, particularly to the Northern Ireland economy where we know low pay is an issue.

“It has had a huge impact in the proportion of our workers classified as low paid, we have gone from about 20% of the labour market being classified as low paid to about 12% of workers so this does have a beneficial impact on our labour market.”

There is definitely a lot of support for the raising of the minimum wage, but there does always have to be a balance between ensuring workers get the wages they deserve whilst making sure it is affordable for employers to pay this extra money.