ACS

ACS has written to the Low Pay Commission this week submitting additional evidence following a new survey of nearly 400 businesses within its 33,000 local shop membership. In May the Low Pay Commission will make their recommendation for the level of minimum wage for 2009/10.

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 2009/10 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.”

Last year’s increase in minimum wage, coupled with the recession, led to a reduction in hours worked in 41 per cent of shops surveyed, and staff are being laid off or not replaced in 16 per cent of shops as businesses find that they cannot afford to absorb the costs of above inflationary rises in NMW.

Mr 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.”

73 per cent of surveyed local shops believe that the NMW has had a negative impact on their competitiveness. In addition 58 per cent 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.