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Minimum Wage Vs Living Wage |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: North West England
Posts: 3,624
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Minimum Wage Vs Living Wage
Minimum wage = £220 per week approx for 40 hours + £55 approx per week working tax credit (single and over 25) = £275 per week
Living wage = £250 per week approx for 40 hours + £5 per week universal credit topup (single and over 25) = £255 per week I thought you were suppose to be 'better of' with this living wage? More like put in one hand and take out the other.
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#2 |
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Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Wolf359
Posts: 96,648
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Quote:
Minimum wage = £220 per week approx for 40 hours + £55 approx per week working tax credit (single and over 25) = £275 per week
Living wage = £250 per week approx for 40 hours + £5 per week universal credit topup (single and over 25) = £255 per week I thought you were suppose to be 'better of' with this living wage? More like put in one hand and take out the other. ![]() |
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#3 |
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: The Pit of Despair
Posts: 50,126
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Whereas, for those whose employers participate in the Living Wage as agreed by the Living Wage Foundation, the pay would be £8.45 (outside London) per hour, = £338pw at 40hrs per week. A big difference. It's also applied to 18 years and older, no discrimination for those under 25.
London rate £9.75 per hour = £390 per week. http://www.livingwage.org.uk/what-living-wage It's great that many employers are following this scheme and choose to pay the real living wage on a voluntary basis, sadly so many more are choosing to pay the NMW, falsely called a 'living wage'. |
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#4 |
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Isle of Wight
Posts: 2,745
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Quote:
Minimum wage = £220 per week approx for 40 hours + £55 approx per week working tax credit (single and over 25) = £275 per week
Living wage = £250 per week approx for 40 hours + £5 per week universal credit topup (single and over 25) = £255 per week I thought you were suppose to be 'better of' with this living wage? More like put in one hand and take out the other. ![]() |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 8,076
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The New Living Wage was about making employers pay more so the government have to borrow less. If you really believed the spiel from the government about getting the pay rise you deserve then i worry for you................and in even better news, inflation is about to go up and you're soon going to be even worse off. Happy new year
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#6 |
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Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: UK
Posts: 39
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If an employer is forced to pay the minimum wage, the employer could stick to that, so the minimum wage becomes the maximum wage for some
It's all a con |
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#7 |
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Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 9,157
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Is the taper rate different for universal credit and working tax credits? If so, you're comparing apples and oranges. In-work UC hasn't started here yet, so I'm not familiar with the rates/thresholds.
The taper rate for WTC is 41%, so an extra £30 pw in gross pay should only lead to a drop of £12.30 in tax credits. However, the rise to £250 pw will all be above the personal allowance (assuming the standard tax code applies), so after deducting tax and NI, the net gain from an extra £30 pw will only be £20.40 or thereabouts. Overall, you'd only end up £8.10 better off by earning that extra £30. If you were getting housing benefit as well, your HB would go down by £5.21, reducing the net gain to less than £3. It's easy to see why people on low incomes find it's not worth working more hours or getting better paid jobs. And why we need a properly integrated tax and benefit system. NB: too lazy to shift from the sofa to get a calculator, so mental arithmetic should not be relied upon! |
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#8 |
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: woking
Posts: 21,655
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Quote:
Minimum wage = £220 per week approx for 40 hours + £55 approx per week working tax credit (single and over 25) = £275 per week
Living wage = £250 per week approx for 40 hours + £5 per week universal credit topup (single and over 25) = £255 per week I thought you were suppose to be 'better of' with this living wage? More like put in one hand and take out the other. ![]() |
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: North West England
Posts: 3,624
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Quote:
Is the taper rate different for universal credit and working tax credits? If so, you're comparing apples and oranges. In-work UC hasn't started here yet, so I'm not familiar with the rates/thresholds.
The taper rate for WTC is 41%, so an extra £30 pw in gross pay should only lead to a drop of £12.30 in tax credits. However, the rise to £250 pw will all be above the personal allowance (assuming the standard tax code applies), so after deducting tax and NI, the net gain from an extra £30 pw will only be £20.40 or thereabouts. Overall, you'd only end up £8.10 better off by earning that extra £30. If you were getting housing benefit as well, your HB would go down by £5.21, reducing the net gain to less than £3. It's easy to see why people on low incomes find it's not worth working more hours or getting better paid jobs. And why we need a properly integrated tax and benefit system. NB: too lazy to shift from the sofa to get a calculator, so mental arithmetic should not be relied upon! All he got was a lousy £20
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 2,051
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Quote:
If an employer is forced to pay the minimum wage, the employer could stick to that, so the minimum wage becomes the maximum wage for some
It's all a con Shameful really. |
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#11 |
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Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 2,051
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Not everyone gets top up benefits so many of us are better off, not significantly but a bit.
I knew I did life all wrong. I should have dropped out kids all over the place and lived in rented accommodation all my life and been grabbing every hand-out I could get. I get no rewards for not being a burden on the state. You can see why others freely chose a different path in life. |
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#12 |
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 25,196
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Yes indeed: I'm single, own my own house completely and don't have any children. So no extra hand-outs for my life choices for me.
I knew I did life all wrong. I should have dropped out kids all over the place and lived in rented accommodation all my life and been grabbing every hand-out I could get. I get no rewards for not being a burden on the state. You can see why others freely chose a different path in life. |
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#13 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: workington, cumbria
Posts: 3,383
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Quote:
Minimum wage = £220 per week approx for 40 hours + £55 approx per week working tax credit (single and over 25) = £275 per week
Living wage = £250 per week approx for 40 hours + £5 per week universal credit topup (single and over 25) = £255 per week I thought you were suppose to be 'better of' with this living wage? More like put in one hand and take out the other. ![]() |
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#14 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 21,720
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Quote:
I would say housing is the problem in the uk, Home ownership in England at lowest level in 30 years as housing crisis grows. People dont choose not to just buy a house, the biggest increase that has been seen is people living in private rental sector which gives then no security at all. When like this week the government says it will help with the price of starter homes, which start at prices from £ 250,000 to £450,000 would you even get a mortgage on these if you are on NMW or what the government now call the living wage. Also average house prices in England are £217,000
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#15 |
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 25,196
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Quote:
Those numbers are the cap on prices, not the starting price.
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#16 |
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,720
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You don't get working tax credits if you're single and earning £7.20 an hour
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#17 |
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: North West England
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£55 a week, WTC, on £220? Where do you live? If you go on the gov.co.uk website, and enter the correct details, no way are you entitled to this amount.
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#18 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: North West England
Posts: 3,624
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Quote:
You don't get working tax credits if you're single and earning £7.20 an hour
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#19 |
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 2,324
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There is a new problem developing now as the NMW increases and one that I am hit with and I'm sure many others and that problem is in some semi-skilled jobs employers haven't been giving raises over the years and now the NMW has caught up so we now face the predicament of having gone though X amount of training and being no better of than someone stacking shelves in a supermarket and in the likes of Lidl they are better off as they pay the living wage.
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#20 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 9,157
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Quote:
There is a new problem developing now as the NMW increases and one that I am hit with and I'm sure many others and that problem is in some semi-skilled jobs employers haven't been giving raises over the years and now the NMW has caught up so we now face the predicament of having gone though X amount of training and being no better of than someone stacking shelves in a supermarket and in the likes of Lidl they are better off as they pay the living wage.
I've been in my post for 10 years this year. When I started, I was on 2.5-3 x min wage. We've only had 2 pay rises in that time, both of 1%, and my hourly rate is now about 1.8 x min wage. I'm starting to wonder why I do a stressful, challenging and difficult job when I wouldn't be a lot worse off if I was on a supermarket checkout. |
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#21 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 2,051
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Quote:
I would say housing is the problem in the uk, Home ownership in England at lowest level in 30 years as housing crisis grows. People dont choose not to just buy a house, the biggest increase that has been seen is people living in private rental sector which gives then no security at all. When like this week the government says it will help with the price of starter homes, which start at prices from £ 250,000 to £450,000 would you even get a mortgage on these if you are on NMW or what the government now call the living wage. Also average house prices in England are £217,000
We have a teenager at work and he is only contracted to work 4 hours on a Saturday. However, for the last many months, he has been raking many hours of overtime and working 2 jobs. He was attempting to move into his first rented place away from parents but just this week, all the overtime has been cut and he is back to just 4 hours week. He simply can't rent a place on that. It's like a zero hour contract but slightly better as they take everyone on as a part timer and use you like hell when they want but drop you like a hot brick when they don't stating "Well that is your contract!". |
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#22 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 8,076
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Quote:
There is a new problem developing now as the NMW increases and one that I am hit with and I'm sure many others and that problem is in some semi-skilled jobs employers haven't been giving raises over the years and now the NMW has caught up so we now face the predicament of having gone though X amount of training and being no better of than someone stacking shelves in a supermarket and in the likes of Lidl they are better off as they pay the living wage.
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#23 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 42,514
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Quote:
Yes indeed: I'm single, own my own house completely and don't have any children. So no extra hand-outs for my life choices for me.
I knew I did life all wrong. I should have dropped out kids all over the place and lived in rented accommodation all my life and been grabbing every hand-out I could get. I get no rewards for not being a burden on the state. You can see why others freely chose a different path in life. |
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#24 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Central Belt
Posts: 12,268
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£55 a week, WTC, on £220? Where do you live? If you go on the gov.co.uk website, and enter the correct details, no way are you entitled to this amount.
You get a bit more on the new so called living wave (which is the value the minimum wage would have been anyway had living wage not replaced it), but you get a lot less in top ups than you did before. The living wage is still inadequate, so many are significantly worse off now. And you may still have to pay more rent and council tax anyway. And the solution of finding full time employment to make up for now getting less money from the same job as you did before due to savage benefit top up cuts is far from a straight forward one. And people did not just go for part time employment in the knowledge they would get a juicy amount WTC's. The job they got with part time hours was probably all there was without any thought of WTC's being paid on top of their wage. |
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