Northampton, UK: A round table chaired by the UK Warehousing Association chief executive Clare Bottle discussed how this month’s increases to the minimum and living wage will affect the logistics sector.
The issue of wage increases was one of the hottest topics debated at the logistics round table, held in Northampton. The national living wage rose from £10.42 to £11.44 an hour on 1 April.Younger employees – aged between 16 and 20 – receive the National Minimum Wage.
The rates for this also increased on 1 April:
- For those aged 16 or 17, the national minimum wage is £6.40 an hour, up from £5.28
- For those aged 18, 19 or 20, the national minimum wage is £8.60, up from £7.49
Chris Wright of ACS Staffing Solutions and Europa Warehouse attended along with Phil Courtney, general manager at Manual Distribution Network (part of John Lewis Partnership), Charlotte Patrick, founder of Northamptonshire Logistics Awards, Dionne Redpath chief operating office of Europa Worldwide and Darren Twiselton, head of managed services at Zig Zag.
“With logistics impacted by increased costs as well as these wage increases the coming 12 months is hard to predict,” said Chris Wright from ACS. “Our customers are looking at a range of different strategies to navigate increased costs whilst maintaining competitiveness.
Dionne Redpath, chief operating officer and head of the warehouse division for Europa Worldwide Group, said: “At Europa, it’s not just about pay, it’s about creating the right culture and values in an organisation and the best environment to retain the best talent and enable them to flourish. It’s a competitive jobs market.
“Yes, these wage increases will affect us, but we are continually focused on being innovative, streamlining our operations, improving efficiencies and ultimately the service we provide for our customers”
As well as looking at increasing staffing costs the team discussed attracting new blood into the logistics industry.
Charlotte Patrick, founder of the Northamptonshire Logistic Awards, said “We need to open up the doors more on our industry – it’s largely a hidden industry and that’s the bit that we need to bring to life. People think we are just moving boxes or driving a fork-lift.”
