ACS Urges Restraint on £13.18 Living Wage Rate as 66% of Retailers Cut Staff Hours
Updated
Updated · Convenience Store · Jul 17
ACS Urges Restraint on £13.18 Living Wage Rate as 66% of Retailers Cut Staff Hours
1 articles · Updated · Convenience Store · Jul 17
Summary
Two-thirds of convenience retailers are cutting paid staff hours, and more than half of store owners are working longer themselves, according to ACS evidence submitted to the Low Pay Commission.
ACS said rising National Insurance costs, higher business rates, first-day statutory sick pay changes and energy-price uncertainty are compounding several years of above-inflation wage increases.
Half of retailers surveyed are already reducing investment, prompting ACS to ask the commission to moderate future wage rises, weigh labour-market impacts and not exceed the current two-thirds-of-median-earnings target.
The commission is due to make its formal recommendation in October before the Autumn Budget; the median estimate for the 2027-28 National Living Wage is £13.18 an hour, up 47p.