B&Q backlash after cutting perks to pay for National Living Wage

The National Living Wage was hailed as a breakthrough for fairer pay for two million people on low incomes. However, unsurprisingly, not all businesses have simply taken the extra costs of higher pay on the chin, and many have been cutting costs elsewhere in order to pay a higher hourly wage. B&Q has taken some drastic measures, and is facing a social media storm.

The National Living Wage means every worker over the age of 25 must be paid at least £7.20 per hour. B&Q has actually brought in a minimum rate of £7.66, and is also paying this to staff under the age of 25. However, in order to afford this change, it is altering the way some pay is structured, and cutting valuable bonuses.

Backlash

The move has sparked a petition and a Facebook campaign. The petition was set up by a B&Q manager under the pseudonym of Kevin Smith, called 'Don't use living wage as excuse to cut pay & benefits'. In it, he says that B&Q is removing the practice of paying time and a half for working on Sundays - and moving from double-time to time and a half for bank holidays. It is also restructuring allowances for working in expensive parts of the UK and removing summer and winter bonuses.

Smith wrote: "Those who have worked within the business for over a decade and know our customers and our business the best are losing thousands of pounds a year. " And adds: "Big businesses like B&Q are using the national living wage as an excuse to cut overall pay and rewards for the people that need it the most."

He says: "I hope that with the support of others, through signing this petition, we can influence B&Q and other businesses to reverse these changes. I also hope they acknowledge that treating people in this way will have a negative impact on their business in the future."

At the moment he has more than 133,000 signatures, including that of Steve Gilman, who used to run the firm's Asian arm.

Facebook

Smith called on people to post on B&Q's Facebook page, and hundreds of users have been busy. The overriding theme of the messages is that people have always had a great deal of respect for a firm they had perceived as treating its staff fairly. This news has left them sorely disappointed.

One user commented: "It's not within the spirit of the new minimum wage laws to cut employee benefits to pay for it. I am very disappointed in B&Q!"

Another added: "I am so surprised to learn of this move by B&Q since I had earlier been very impressed by what had been their policy of employing older men and women with experience in their shops where possible." And one wrote: "B&Q staff are renowned for their friendly helpfulness towards the public. The apparent policy described here will surely undermine that and needs to be re-considered."

Defence

A B&Q spokesperson said in a statement: "We understand and are sorry that some of our colleagues feel upset by the changes. This has been a difficult decision for us and our aim has always been to reward all of our people fairly so that employees who are doing the same job receive the same pay. That wasn't the case as, for a long time, some had been being paid different allowances and that couldn't continue."

It's important to bear in mind that after the changes, B&Q is still offering far more than the basic minimums. It is paying the more generous rate to those who are under 25, who have no claim to the Living Wage - which makes it a brilliant option for young people.

It also retains a performance bonus, and perhaps most notably offers a 14% employer contribution to the pension - far better than the statutory minimum. There's also a ShareSave scheme and five weeks holiday a year. This, the firm points out: "Make us one of the best payers in the retail sector."

It takes care to highlight that: "No one's base pay is being reduced at all, and we are paying compensation so no one's bonus or benefits will be reduced in the first twelve months. We are also committed to reviewing the position in twelve months' time to ensure we remain one of the best payers in retail and can attract and retain the best people. During that time, we will gather all the feedback, evaluate what changes to make for 1 April 2017 and will be engaging with the B&Q People Forum and our employees more widely. Our rewards package remains one of the best in retail and this year, we will be paying more than we did last year."

Unfair

However, there will be those who argue that just because there are plenty of retailers out there offering far less than B&Q, it's no excuse. There will always be businesses that they can highlight as paying less, because there will always be retailers operating on tiny margins, who squeeze every penny out of every corner of their business in order to survive. Perhaps a business the size of B&Q shouldn't be comparing itself to these firms.

MPs are concerned enough to have thrown themselves into the debate. Siobhain McDonagh, Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden, has launched an Early Day Motion calling for all employers to commit to ensuring 'no employee is made worse off or is made redundant as a result of the introduction of the National Living Wage'.

But what do you think? Is this a business trying to do the right thing for staff when having its hand forced by the government? Or is this big business throwing its weight around? Let us know in the comments.