Responding to the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) consultation on the future of the national minimum wage, the NFRN has expressed its frustration that the process has been made political following the Chancellor’s recent announcement of a new National Living Wage.
During the July Budget statement Chancellor George Osborne announced that from April 2016 there would be a new National Living Wage for all adults over 25 years old. The Federation has been left exasperated by the plans which prescribe the rates up to 2020.
NFRN National President Ralph Patel said: “The minimum wage is an increasing burden on small businesses, however this has been overlooked by the government who have taken much of the Commission’s independence from them by prescribing the target for 2020.
“The evidence based approach used by the LPC is important in ensuring all businesses meeting this cost are represented and we will continue to engage with them to try to get our concerns across.”
The NFRN will be sharing its concerns with the Low Pay Commission during its evidence gathering tour of the country later this year.
