Wages rise and rise
For many years, a majority of the work that we were asked to undertake was at or around the prevailing National Minimum Wage. From the introduction of that idea, in 1999, warehouse and factory workers would seldom earn significantly more.Within the past two years, that landscape has changed dramatically. Very few organisations that we supply with staff think the the bare minimum is enough to recruit and retain good staff, and we are in full agreement. £9.50 is the current minimum but we are finding ever more employers are turning towards the National Living Wage instead, recently increased to £11.95 in London.
Furthermore, within our labouring division, those with CSCS accreditation (in increasing demand) are earning £13.00 per hour. Add holiday pay at 12.07% to that sum and remuneration is far higher, in comparison to the minimum, than it has ever been.
In addition to higher initial wages, many staff see increases when gaining parity with comparable permanent employees after 12 weeks at the same client and we are also seeing more staff than ever moving on to permanent work with our clients.
The reasons for the current premiums that temporary workers (at least with Extraman) earn can be debated of course. The labour shortages that are becoming more acute following our departure from the EU are undoubtedly the prime factor. For those who are in London, looking for work, this is without doubt a golden period.