The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has called on the Low Pay Commission to freeze this year’s planned increase in the National Minimum Wage after 73% of local shops surveyed said it had made them less competitive.
Low Pay Commission will make their recommendation in May for the level of minimum wage for 2009-2010.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “Businesses in the UK are facing uncertain economic times and many are experiencing a double hit of recession and growing employment costs. We are calling for a freeze on the National Minimum Wage for 2009-2010 to offset the inflation-busting rises of the last ten years and to help businesses by not imposing an automatic increase to their biggest item of expenditure.”
His call came after an ACS survey of nearly 400 stores.
Last year’s increase in minimum wage, coupled with the recession, led to a reduction in hours worked in 41% of shops surveyed, and staff are being laid off or not replaced in 16% of shops as businesses find that they cannot afford to absorb the costs of above-inflation rises in NMW.
Lowman continued: “Where the minimum wage is at a level that is forcing businesses to cut hours worked or jobs to keep their employment costs at an affordable level, then it is no longer benefiting the people that it was designed to help.”
Some 73% surveyed local shops believe that the NMW has had a negative impact on their competitiveness. In addition 58% of respondents stated that they had been unable to invest in their business and staff to the extent they had planned, due to unsustainable staffing costs.
