With the minimum wage set to rise, will independent stores be able to absorb the extra cost?
This month could signal a tough year for some small businesses as they struggle to cope with higher costs. Wage bills in particular, which will be shaped by the Low Pay Commission’s imminent report on proposals for new national minimum wage rates, look set to rise.
Workers and their representatives, employers, academics and government departments have all been consulted by the Commission. Any rise would be implemented by October - and a 7% increase has been rumoured.
The Grocer questioned independent retailers shopping at United Wholesale (Scotland) in Glasgow on what effect a 7% rise would have on their businesses, and whether other staffing issues, such as theft and retention, are making an impact.
Raja Mohammad Agram has one staff member at his Mini Market store in Garelochhead, Argyll and believes any rise would be detrimental. “If turnover stays the same, or even drops, it would be hard for any small shop to implement a wage rise. I only have one member of staff, but I might have to reduce the hours if they put the minimum wage up by 7%,” he said.
In the past, Agram has had problems with staff retention and theft. “I installed security cameras two years ago - one on the tills and one in the back. Before, the money I should have had at the end of the day wasn’t always there,” he said.
Nomi Syed has also installed cameras plus a voice monitoring system hooked up to the till, in his Costcutter store in Paisley Road West, Glasgow.
He took this action after finding the books failed to balance when he returned from a holiday. “I did find out who took it, but it is very difficult to prove,” he added.
Syed says that staff motivation and retention always pose problems. And the headaches increase with the training required to get them up to speed with all the issues involved in running a busy convenience store.
In an attempt to keep good staff, Syed pays above the minimum wage once they have been with him three or four months.
In Renfrewshire, Muhammad Sharif has had a happier experience. He had been a retail employee until six years ago when he decided to go it alone and opened his Sandy Flats Food Store in Johnston. “I have one employee who has worked for me since I opened. I’ve been really lucky to find such a good worker.”
Because Sharif has such a good relationship with his employee, he says that if the minimum wage goes up, he would not begrudge the increase, and already pays above the minimum wage once bonuses at Christmas and other busy times of the year are taken into account.
This month could signal a tough year for some small businesses as they struggle to cope with higher costs. Wage bills in particular, which will be shaped by the Low Pay Commission’s imminent report on proposals for new national minimum wage rates, look set to rise.
Workers and their representatives, employers, academics and government departments have all been consulted by the Commission. Any rise would be implemented by October - and a 7% increase has been rumoured.
The Grocer questioned independent retailers shopping at United Wholesale (Scotland) in Glasgow on what effect a 7% rise would have on their businesses, and whether other staffing issues, such as theft and retention, are making an impact.
Raja Mohammad Agram has one staff member at his Mini Market store in Garelochhead, Argyll and believes any rise would be detrimental. “If turnover stays the same, or even drops, it would be hard for any small shop to implement a wage rise. I only have one member of staff, but I might have to reduce the hours if they put the minimum wage up by 7%,” he said.
In the past, Agram has had problems with staff retention and theft. “I installed security cameras two years ago - one on the tills and one in the back. Before, the money I should have had at the end of the day wasn’t always there,” he said.
Nomi Syed has also installed cameras plus a voice monitoring system hooked up to the till, in his Costcutter store in Paisley Road West, Glasgow.
He took this action after finding the books failed to balance when he returned from a holiday. “I did find out who took it, but it is very difficult to prove,” he added.
Syed says that staff motivation and retention always pose problems. And the headaches increase with the training required to get them up to speed with all the issues involved in running a busy convenience store.
In an attempt to keep good staff, Syed pays above the minimum wage once they have been with him three or four months.
In Renfrewshire, Muhammad Sharif has had a happier experience. He had been a retail employee until six years ago when he decided to go it alone and opened his Sandy Flats Food Store in Johnston. “I have one employee who has worked for me since I opened. I’ve been really lucky to find such a good worker.”
Because Sharif has such a good relationship with his employee, he says that if the minimum wage goes up, he would not begrudge the increase, and already pays above the minimum wage once bonuses at Christmas and other busy times of the year are taken into account.
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