Do low pay and low grade always go together?

This year's rise in the minimum wage from £5.93 an hour to £6.08 - a 2.5% rise but below the inflation rate - has already been greeted with some dismay by the catering industry. Meanwhile the London Living Wage Campaign, being supported by the city's Mayor, Boris Johnson, has now set the London minimum pay at £8.30 an hour, something that has been supported by 100 of the wealthier firms and companies in London, but not by the vast majority of employers.

"No one wishes to come across as an old skinflint, " says Chris Stern of the Food Consultants Society International (FCSI), "but we are facing a 6% increase which for many client companies could prove the last straw. It is quite unaffordable."

If Caterers are charging clients' employees £2.30 for a cappuccino, then a 6% increase on top becomes quites significant, he says.

For the full article please see pages 18 - 19:

http://www.educateringmagazine.co.uk/