UK Wage rises and tax cuts. What do staff want from this week's 'mini Budget'?.

​The UK ​​Prime Minister Liz Truss has been urged to raise the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, along with cutting Employers’ National Insurance, ahead of the ‘mini Budget’ this Friday.

Research from Aspire finds that 40% of respondents want to see an increase to the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage announced on Friday September 23, when new chancellor will deliver a new ‘mini-budget’ aimed at cutting tax and addressing the cost-of-living crisis.

Living conditions for many have been a struggle and still remain to be with the rise of the energy bills and, as such, firms and jobseekers have called for the Government to protect them from soaring inflation and stimulate growth in the jobs market.

These were among the key findings from recruitment agency Aspire’s latest UK Workplace Trends report– a quarterly study into the trends shaping the world of work. In this report, 42% of more than 500 candidates surveyed called on the government to raise the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage, in light of the cost of living crisis.

In addition, 15% of these candidates – who work across the marketing, sales, technology and the creative industries – want to see Employers’ National Insurance reduced, to make it more attractive for businesses to employ staff.

Paul Farrer, Chairman and founder of Aspire, commented: “Businesses are facing challenges on several fronts - with inflation and an ongoing skills shortage that’s hampering economic growth- and so it’s essential that the Prime Minister and her Government do what they can to create more favourable conditions.”

However, is there room for transformation to better living conditions for all?

Many businesses and people around the UK are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, from rising bills to living expenses and an increase in taxes. The new Prime Minister and her Government are seeking alternatives to overcome and boost living conditions. The most recent change that the Conservative leadership is diving into is visible with their upcoming announcement to cuts taxes by £30bn in the emergency mini-budget.

Even though this new announcement may be pleasing to the eye at first, with the belief that tax cuts can boost the cost of living vastly, these tax reductions can in fact further hurt the economy into risk inflation rates.

Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, raised further concerns about the Government’s plans, saying: “If we have the £30bn of tax cuts, and we know that the economy is doing less well than it was, they may well change the rules.

He added: “When you’ve got a slowing economy and you’re cutting taxes then clearly that’s going to lead to more government borrowing and therefore debt, increasing the risk that you break the fiscal rules.”

The emergency mini-budget announcement that will be put forth by Kwarteng may help living expenses and reduce the energy crises to some extent in the short term. But cutting taxes and administering unfunded tax cuts will not help living conditions by any means in the long run.

As a matter of fact, Sanjay Raja, Senior Economist for Deutsche Bank said: “Kwarteng’s mini-budget will be defined by an unprecedented energy support package for households and businesses in the midst of a materially weaker macro backdrop. Combined with unfunded tax cuts, our base case is for a material deterioration in the public finances.”

Overall, many different voices and issues are being brought into light in line with the upcoming emergency mini-budget that is expected to be made by Kwasi Kwarteng this Friday.

It’s important to note that, this emergency announcement is a fundamental opportunity for the new Prime Minister and her government to bring hope and support to the people of the UK and listen to their concerns for everyone to thrive.

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Published on hrgrapevine.com.