A PRESSURE group acting for small businesses says rises in the minimum wage will have a negative effect.
The Forum of Private Business (FPB) called an increase of 35p, due to be introduced at the end of this week, a shameless piece of electioneering.
The latest rise will mean the minimum wage has risen by 34.7 per cent in the past five years for workers aged over 21.
The FPB said the new figure of £4.85 an hour was well above earnings growth.
FPB chief executive Nick Goulding said the rise would hit businesses in poorer and remote areas, and take money from employers' pockets.
Mr Goulding said : "This increase has been badly thought through and will have a variety of negative effects."
He said the increase would have a heavy impact on high employment sectors, such as retail and catering.
The FPB represents 26,000 member companies with a total of more than 600,000 employees.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article