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1 Jul 2024

Bicycle manufacturers say they are optimistic about the bike industry’s growth prospects, anticipating a boost in sales – supported by a ‘positive impulse’ from the...

1 Jul 2024

Although London has some of the best cycling infrastructure in the UK it continues to lag behind European cities including The Hague and Paris, according to a new global survey.

1 Jul 2024

ACT partner V12 Retail Finance has been announced as the sponsor for the Retailers Category at the BikeBiz Awards 2024, in association with Push.

1 Jul 2024

Consumer confidence is up in the UK for the third month in a row, according to GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index.

24 Jun 2024

A cycle shop owner has criticised the police’s “abject apathy” towards bike theft after thieves attempted to break into his store for the second time in a year, on the same...

19 Jun 2024

Cytech-partner Activate Cycle Academy, which has specialist cycle maintenance training centres in Oxford, Guildford, Stafford and Darlington, will be exhibiting at this weekend’s York...

19 Jun 2024

Better Bike Social, a festival of cycling that will include a range of talks, workshops, and weekend rides, is coming to Brighton next month.

17 Jun 2024

Cycling enthusiasts in Shrewsbury and Warrington being treated to new cycle shops.

17 Jun 2024

Sustrans has released a manifesto in the lead-up to the General Election that lays out steps the future government needs to make to remove barriers to cycling and other forms of active travel.

17 Jun 2024

Independent family-owned cycle shop Arragon’s Cycles has teamed up with train operator Avanti West Coast  to make Penrith station a designated pick-up point for bike hire –...

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Minimum wage rises for two million workers

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News , Political News

About two cashmillion of the UK's lowest-paid workers will get a pay rise from Thursday as the minimum wage goes up.

The National Living Wage will rise 2.2% to £8.91, the equivalent of more than £345 a year for a full-time employee.

It will also be given to 23 and 24-year-olds for the first time, not just those aged 25 and over.

Statutory rates for apprentices and those aged between 18 and 22 will also rise, along with the voluntary "Real Living Wage".

However, hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers on furlough will see no uplift at all after they were excluded.

Ministers said the increases to minimum wages would particularly benefit workers in sectors such as retail, hospitality, cleaning and maintenance.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it would be "a welcome boost to families right across the UK".

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng urged "all workers" to check their pay packets to ensure they were "getting what they are entitled to, and remind employers of their duty to pay the correct wage".

 

Minimum wage increases from 1 April:

  • From £8.72 to £8.91 an hour for workers over the age of 23
  • From £8.20 to £8.36 for those aged 21-22
  • From £6.45 to £6.56 for 18 to 20-year-olds
  • From £4.55 to £4.62 for under-18s
  • From £4.15 to £4.30 for apprentices


The voluntary Real Living Wage will rise to £10.85 an hour in London and £9.50 outside the capital, but only a small minority of employers have signed up to pay it.

The foundation promoting it warned there was still a "substantial gap" between the statutory rates and one based on the actual cost of living.

Increased cash incentives for employers to hire new apprentices kick in today

In addition to the increase in national living wage, the government also recently introduced new funding grants during the pandemic for employers taking on new apprentices, meaning that they could now receive up to £4,000 per apprentice.

During the recent Budget at the beginning of March Sunak announced an extension and increase to current apprenticeship incentives, so that from today (1st April 2021) until 30th September 2021 employers who take on a new apprentice of any age will receive an incentive payment of £3,000, superseding the current incentives.

This is in addition to the pre-existing £1,000 payment already provided for new apprentices aged 16 to 18 and those under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan, meaning that some employers could receive £4,000 in total and on top of having the majority of training funded by the government, meaning it has never been a better time to employ an apprentice.

The extended and increased payments will have the potential to be both transformational for young people and employers alike.

Alongside a much-needed cash boost for businesses, the scheme encourages employers to grow their own talent, creating some amazing opportunities for people to start a rewarding career within the cycling industry.

Read up on how you can take on Cytech qualified bicycle technician apprentices now 

 

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