ANALYSIS
NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE ANTONY BEGLEY, EDITOR, SLR
MINIMUM WAGE, MAXIMUM COMPLEXITY THE LOW PAY COMMISSION IS NEARING THE END OF ITS CONSULTATION PERIOD BEFORE IT SETS THE NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE LEVELS FOR 2021, WITH COVID-19 MUDDYING ALREADY MURKY WATERS.
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here are few issues that generate as much debate and friction every year in retail life as the seemingly inevitable annual increase in the National Minimum Wage. The Low Pay Commission’s regular consultations often generate fierce debate around what is undoubtedly a very complex topic and it’s an issue that has taken on even more layers of complexity thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. Even the Low Pay Commission has been hit by the crisis with the consultation itself suffering from the effects of coronavirus. The original plan was for the consultation on the 2021 minimum wage rates to be launched on Thursday
20 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 14 / WEDNESDAY 22ND JULY 2020
12 March and run for 12 weeks with a deadline of Thursday 4 June, but lockdown put paid to that. A carefully worded statement on the Low Pay Commission’s website read: “This deadline was originally set to allow time to read consultation responses ahead of in-person evidence sessions in July. We still intend to go ahead with these sessions, although may seek to hold them remotely. “We recognise the difficulties our stakeholders may face in responding by this deadline. We will leave the formal deadline in place, but in practice will accept evidence presented to us up until mid-July“.
