From October 1 the National Minimum Wage rate increased by 20p to £6.70 per hour for employees over the age of 21 – an above inflation increase of 3%.

Additionally, the hourly rate for 18-20 year old employees rose by 17p to £5.30 and for under 18s, the rate increased by 8p to £3.87.

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has previously warned that the above inflation increase to the National Minimum Wage could have a detrimental impact on jobs, staff hours and store profitability.

ACS research shows that 88% of retailers have previously reduced staff hours within their business as a result of increases in employment costs, while 72% have increased their own working hours in order to reduce costs in their business.

This new National Minimum Wage rate comes into force ahead of the National Living Wage hourly rate of £7.20 per hour for employees over the age of 25 from April 2016.

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