CHAMBER NEWS
consequence of the National Living Wage. “What the Chancellor has
done is thrown a pebble in a pond and the ripples are now beginning to show. “Minimum wages increased by
70p an hour in seven months. That's nice for workers on the lowest incomes but for companies paying mostly minimum wage, it means a rise in payroll costs of nearly 11%, not including employers on-costs such as pensions under auto- enrolment and National Insurance. That significant increase has to be funded. “But that's not where it ends.
Supervisors who were previously earning an extra pound an hour are now earning only 30p an hour more for the added responsibility. They will want their earned pay differentials restored, and so on it goes up the chain. “Employers have to balance
their books and if that means making adjustments to staffing levels or changing pay practices, such as removing enhancements for working unsocial hours, then it must happen if companies, especially the bigger employers, are to remain viable. They should not be further punished for trying to remain profitable.”
D2N2 Growth Hub is highly recommended
Nearly 90% of D2N2 Growth Hub clients said they would recommend it to another firm and three- quarters of high growth enterprises had acted on the business advice they were given, according to a recent survey. The Growth Hub – hosted by the Chamber and part of the private sector-led D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership - was launched in December 2014. It has since provided more than
1,500 businesses with free advice on training, growth and funding. A phone survey of 200 clients
Lindsay Allen
found that 88% would recommend it to another business, 77% rated the service or advice they’d had as either ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ and 59% had taken action as a result of the Growth Hub’s advice or service. The D2N2 Growth Hub’s successful delivery over the past year resulted in
‘It’s gratifying to see that the clients who’ve actually dealt with the Growth Hub value its advice so highly’
the Government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) agreeing a further £861,000 funding for it, over the next two years. Lindsay Allen, D2N2 Growth Hub Senior Programme Manager (Sector
Development), said: “We try and offer a ‘one stop shop’ for businesses in our area so that, whether it’s someone just setting up an enterprise or a well- established firm with 50 employees, we or one of our regional or national partners can do something to help them grow. “It’s gratifying to see that the clients who’ve actually dealt with the Growth Hub value its advice so highly. It’s their opinions that count in the end.”
Double result for stars of the Chamber
Maria Martin-Albarran, of the Chamber’s International Student Placement Office (ISPO), and Hafeez Aziz, of Chamber Training, are the recipients of the Our Stars awards for February and March, respectively. “Both were nominated multiple
times for providing support across the breadth of the Chamber in a variety of ways, demonstrating living by the Chamber values,” said Chamber Chief Executive Scott Knowles.
business network May 2016 17
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