The government is continuing to be extremely generous…to itself? – NLW 2024

by on November 22, 2023

An updated version of the blogs which were posted here in November 2022 and April 2022.  This now uses the NLW figure of £11.44 an hour and the 10% employee NI rate, announced in the Autumn Statement of 22nd November.  The message is the same. The real winner from the NLW increase is the Treasury.  […]

The government is going to be extremely generous…?

by on November 15, 2022

A tweaked version of the blog which was posted here on November 15th.  This now uses the NLW figureof £10.42 an hour, announced in the Autumn Statement of 17th November.  The differences are small but deserve precision. Another update to my previous postings, looking at the real gains (and for whom) of increases in the […]

Inflation increases for earnings and benefits – it’s not that simple

by on October 6, 2022

The driver for limiting benefits increases, instead of linking them to inflation, appears to be presented as an argument that it’s not fair for working people to receive a 5% pay increase while people on benefits will get around 10%. That seems to be a very simple and easy comparison to make and might appear […]

2022, a better year for generous work incentives? – how the government is really doing

by on November 3, 2021

With some very, very boring but pretty important numbers The government has been playing around with the tax and benefit system quite a lot this year. They have increased and decreased rates, tapers, thresholds and other factors with, apparently, wild enthusiasm. All of the announcements have been, predictably, treated as stand-alone elements with those that […]

2020, a good year for generous work incentives? – how the government is really doing

by on February 2, 2020

(With a lot of very, very boring but quite important numbers) This government loves sound bites and bullet points. They can look very impressive. UK minimum wage to rise by four times rate of inflation Employees over 25 will receive a 6.2% pay rise equating to £930 a year for full-time worker National Living Wage […]