Hackney business owners split over new ‘National Living Wage’
Earning the London Living Wage: A barista at BL_NK in Curtain Road (Picture: Valerie Browne) - Credit: Archant
Hackney’s small business owners are divided over George Osborne’s new “national living wage”, brought into force this month.
Workers over 25 must be paid £7.20 an hour, rising to £9 an hour by 2020 – effectively an increase in the minimum wage that was previously £6.70.
The “national living wage” is unrelated to the Voluntary London Living Wage Foundation’s recommended hourly rate of £9.40 an hour. More than a fifth of Hackney’s workforce earn less than this higher figure.
The East London Trade Guild’s Krissie Nicolson claimed the new law would negatively affect start-ups.
“Although we condone paying the London Living wage,” she told the Gazette, “the compulsory National Living Wage will have a detrimental effect on a number of small businesses, especially when they are starting out.”
You may also want to watch:
Jens Harder, who owns Well Street Kitchen, said he couldn’t “even bear to think how the business would have got off the ground if the minimum wage was £9 an hour”.
“If I had the option of two people applying for a position, I might look more favourably on employing the under-25 because I wouldn’t need to pay them as much,” he added. “I had a quick check and all my baristas are under 25 but sometimes I do employ kitchen porters [who are] a bit older.
Most Read
- 1 "Heartless" Joshua White killers jailed for life
- 2 Broken De Beauvoir Estate lift saw man "bump" wife in wheelchair down stairs
- 3 Three men who went on stabbing spree in Hackney convicted of murder
- 4 Hackney Rabbi campaigns with Idris Elba, Ed Sheeran, Lewis Hamilton and others to Never Forget Stephen Lawrence
- 5 ‘We are still human’: homeless households speak out over living conditions
- 6 "Outcry" over fortnightly rubbish collection in Stamford Hill
- 7 Hackney volunteers tend to Overground station gardens
- 8 Hackney police commander calls on community to "play its part" in crime prevention
- 9 "Predator" jailed after sexually assaulting sleeping woman on Hackney bus
- 10 Three men charged following Hackney shooting
“I might have to resort to hiring under-25-year-old kitchen porters now, which is a terrible repercussion because it’s those guys who most probably have families to support.”
The phased-in compulsory wage increase was announced in last year’s autumn statement to offset cuts to housing benefits and working tax credits, effectively transferring support for low-income workers from government top-up schemes to employers.
Tim Sperryn, owner of BL_NK in Curtain Road, said he always paid staff of all ages a rate above the Voluntary London Living Wage.
“It’s important that [my staff] have enough money to live in London,” he said. “I benefit with a very low sick rate and happy staff who over-deliver. You can’t cut the engine room to be more profitable at the top end.”