A double increase in minimum wages won’t ease the burden of spiralling accommodation costs in Jersey, argues Jersey Hospitality Association’s CEO Simon Soar.
‘Like any industry should, we value our employees. The hospitality industry would be nothing without the amazing people who work for it and, as employers, we want the best for staff.
‘We support a minimum wage increase from £8.02 to £8.32, as recommended by the Jersey Employment Forum, because it’s been carefully considered, the research has been done, and it’s something that works for employees and employers.
‘But a second minimum wage increase, as proposed by Deputy Rob Ward? Not only will it hit hospitality hard, but it will completely fail to address some of the bigger issues faced by lower income workers.’
A second minimum wage won’t ease the rising cost of accommodation
‘In hospitality, wages have increased above RPI, so technically our members should be enjoying more disposable income. Our recent survey shows that we pay on average above minimum wage to our employees, and yet this isn’t necessarily being reflected in their quality of life. The big question is, why not?
‘There are clearly other factors at play and any politician who wants to improve the lives of lower income workers must look at the wider picture. For example, a big problem for our employees is the cost of housing. Continued rent increases are eating through wages and a second increase wouldn’t even put a dent in the problem.
‘If you look the House Price Index produced by Statistics Jersey, house prices are rising at a much higher rate than average earnings. Minimum wage would need a monumental increase to get even close to catching up. Of course, that’s not feasible for our industry or any industry.’
There is no research to support a second increase
‘If the Employment Forum had come back, having done the maths and researched the impact on businesses and workers’ quality of living, and said a second increase would benefit society, we would absolutely support it.
‘However, we have one deputy, who hasn’t done a thorough consultation, asking for its introduction. Superficially, of course, it sounds like a great idea, but the statistical evidence points to other more impactful ways to improve quality of living for lower income workers – like tackling spiralling rents, for example.
The consequences for hospitality
‘The hospitality industry has already had to absorb the alcohol duty increase that was agreed in the 2020 Budget. A second wage increase would force us to pass on these increased costs to the customers, our islanders. This is not something we want to do, which is why we’ll be asking State members not to support Deputy Ward’s proposal.’