Stores slashing staff Sunday pay and allowances

Siobhain has launched a campaign about the thousands of retail workers which are having their Sunday pay and allowances cut in advance of the 'National Living Wage'.

As a result of these cuts, Siobhain estimated that some staff at B&Q will be up to £50 a week worse off - that's over £2000 a year.

These changes are occurring under the guise of a new 'National Living Wage' - but some of the lowest paid workers are losing out. 

If you believe you will be affected by these changes, either at B&Q or elsewhere, please email Siobhain at mcdonaghs@parliament.uk

***UPDATE*** Watch Siobhain's speech in Parliament here 



Read the Daily Mirror article about the campaign here, or read it below.

'Campaigners have hit out at some of Britain’s biggest retailers over plans to slash Sunday pay in response to George Osborne’s minimum wage hike.

Staff at B&Q, Tesco and Morrisons are all set to be stripped of extra cash for working unsociable hours when the Chancellor’s higher minimum wage rate is introduced in April.

Citizens UK Living Wage campaigner Angus Ritchie said: “It’s shocking to hear that national employers are using the introduction of a new rate of statutory pay to review their reward structures.”The new £7.20 hourly minimum rate - billed as the National Living Wage - comes in in April and was designed to boost employees’ pay packets.

But it only applies to workers aged 25 and over, and will be much lower than the independently set real Living Wage, which is £9.40 in London and £8.25 outside the capital.

Some bosses have claimed they will struggle to pay the new rate, and have been looking at ways to keep wage bills down and protect profit margins.DIY giant B&Q has written to thousands of shopfloor workers saying it wants to hike basic pay to £7.66 an hour minimum from April.

But a consultation document seen by the Mirror reveals it wants to axe the “Sunday premium” and other allowances.

The proposal admits: “Some colleagues would be negatively affected financially by these proposed changes”. Mr Ritchie added: “Many of the retail staff we talk to often work well over normal working hours just to make ends meet.“I’m not sure how many of these workers will view their pay packets and see a ‘living wage’; in fact it’s likely that they will see an ‘existence wage’ - being forced to make tough daily decisions from deciding if they can switch on the heating or do a weekly shop.“The voluntary Living Wage rewards a hard day’s work with a fair day’s pay.”

Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh estimated some B&Q workers could lose up to £50 a week.

She said: “B&Q is pretending to be a great employer by introducing the National Living Wage. But in reality, it is taking money away from their poorest paid shop floor workers.

“It’s a national scandal and I hope that everybody will realise that popular retailers like B&Q and so many others are all at it.

“Thousands of shopfloor workers are silently having their wages cut under the guise of the national living wage.”

B&Q said it was still consulting staff and pointed out the rise would apply regardless of age. It added: “B&Q is committed to being a good payer.”Tesco previously announced cuts to holiday and night-time bonuses under a new deal that will see 250,000 store staff receive a 3.1% increase in basic pay. Last September, Morrisons said it would increase pay for 90,000 shopfloor staff to £8.20 an hour from March.Some of the increase will be offset by changes to benefits - including the end of extra pay for Sundays and paid breaks.'