Page 8 - P4403.59-V46_Numark Magazine Feb 24- (1)

OFFSETTING THE

MINIMUM
MINIMUM
IMPACT OF THE RAISE IN

G
WA E
WAGE

On the 21st of November the chancellor announced an increase
in the national living wage of nearly 10% to £11.44 an hour. This
would result in the earnings of a full time worker rising by
£1,800 A YEAR

The chancellor accepted in full the recommendation of the Low
pay commission – the body set up to advise ministers on the level
of the national minimum wage. The increase from £10.42 to £11.44
comes on the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis in which inflation
peaked at 11.1% - the highest in 40 years.

Eligibility for the national living wage was also announced by reducing the age
threshold from 23 to 21. A 21-year-old could see a rise of 12.4%, from £10.18 this
year to £11.44 from April, worth almost £2,300 a year to a full-time worker.

The announcement represents a vital lifeline for those struggling with the
impact of high inflation on cost of living, however it also represents another
blow to community pharmacy. Pharmacy funding has not increased in line with
inflation despite the significant increases to overheads and labour costs. The
latest plans to increase national living wage will result in further pressure to a
sector that has already seen increasing numbers of contractors leave and the
lowest number of community pharmacies recorded in Wales and England in a
decade.
Community pharmacy has suffered with recruitment and retention of both
pharmacists and trained pharmacy staff in recent years as they are forced to
compete in a labour market that has seen low levels of unemployment and very
high levels of job vacancies. To retain competent and qualified staff pharmacy
contractors need to maintain pay differential for qualified colleagues meaning
that a rise in national living wage will result in a similar increase to the wages of
all staff.

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