According to the statistics, the hourly rate of pay in the hospitality and leisure industries is £8.12, 62p higher than the new NLW threshold for those aged 25 and older introduced in April this year.
Mike Shipley, analytics and insight solutions director, has warned of the pressure the industry faces due to the wage inflation ahead of the general election tomorrow (June 8th), with extent of inflation over the next five years determined by which party is elected.
Shipley said: “Considering we’re currently paying on average wages 8.5% higher than the NLW, the average hourly rate could reach £10.85 or more by 2020.
“Crucially, as well as the differences in headline wage rates, the differing proposed treatment of minimum wage rates for those aged between 18-25 by the two main parties will also materially affect the overall cost burden to the industry.”
The Conservative Party has pledged to raise the NLW to 60% of median earnings for over 25s while the Labour Party has pledge to increase the National Minimum Wage (NMW) to £10 an hour for those aged 18 and over by 2020.
Shipley said: “To combat this era of aggressive labour inflation without cutting staff, many of our clients are engaged in productivity programmed and initiatives, such as smarter rota scheduling to improve both sales and service levels, as well as driving the amount of revenue taken per worker/per labour hour.”
The statistics also show the regional pay gap has risen to 13p, up from 10p in January 2017 and the gender pay gap, previously in favour of women by 2p in December 2016, has increased in favour of men who are paid on average 12p more than women.