“Recent policy announcements, in particular the National Living Wage and the introduction of the apprenticeship levy, will increase the pace of some of these changes”.
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The FT leads with a report that 1m retail jobs in the sector – a third of today’s total – will disappear by 2025 as technology and the rising minimum wage reshape the industry.
In total, increased business rates, the Government’s new 0.5 per cent tax on payrolls to fund apprenticeships and its National Living Wage scheme could cost retailers an additional £14billion in the next four years, around 20 per cent of the sector’s profitability.
The retail sector in the United Kingdom employs three million people and the more “economically fragile” parts of the United Kingdom are likely to be hit the hardest, the BRC said.
The BRC noted the changing nature of retail, noting how the digital revolution meant 15% of sales are now made online and there are around 40,000 fewer shops now than a decade ago.
“Getting this response right will have a positive impact on the retail industry, but also on the wider economy, social mobility, geographical balance, training and employment more broadly”, he said.
The latest report is the first of three to be published by the British Retail Consortium – the trade body represents all forms of retailers from small, independently owned stores, to big department stores.
There will also be store closures thanks to customers flocking to online-shopping. This will come at a cost to jobs, though those employees that still work in retail will have both better and better-paid jobs.
Although not calling for a full review, Sir Charlie said that impact of the National Living Wage on employment would have to be looked at “carefully and objectively to see how things are working out”.
The BRC has recommended changes to mitigate the impact, including reforming the business rates system, ensuring the remit of the Low Pay Commission is strengthened and greater employer leadership of the apprenticeship levy, including more discretion for employers over how and where it is spent.
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“The government is making sure workers in Britain get a pay rise by introducing the National Living Wage from April this year”, a spokesman said.
