Who's for a Pay Rise............

[Mike Wrightson]

What pay rise???

[Conshine]

Well, since the cost of Diesel has been rising, I managed to get my boss to give me an extra £5 a day on my rate (self employed) so I'm not actually bringing in any more money, but i'm still breaking even on the Diesel front and I'm spending £120 a week too!

Ben

[Barbourc1]

Well i got a 3% pay rise , but the taxman swallowed some of that back up again

[lol-lol]

Well i got a 3% pay rise , but the taxman swallowed some of that back up again

That is negative in real terms as this Government has pushed inflation to over 5% with its tax rises.

Tough deal except for City bankers where you can borrow money at 1% from the Government, lend it at 5% and pay yourself a bonus big enought to buy a luxury car, second house etc.

Edited 17 February, 2011 by lol

[jlwah]

That is negative in real terms as this Government has pushed inflation to over 5% with its tax rises.

What rubbish! Most of the current inflation is imported due to the low pound - both oil and food have been subject to double digit increases over the past 12 months, add in the fact that Chinese and Indian inflation is running at 8 to 10% and you'll find that the governments only contribution to inflation has been the vat rise.

[lol-lol]

What rubbish! Most of the current inflation is imported due to the low pound - both oil and food have been subject to double digit increases over the past 12 months, add in the fact that Chinese and Indian inflation is running at 8 to 10% and you'll find that the governments only contribution to inflation has been the vat rise.

That would be the low pound that has been trading around 1.46-1.61 USD/GBP range for the last 12 months.

Raw material prices are rising yes but it is the Governments introduction of higher Excise and VAT rates that is pushing inflation up more than any other factors as most goods we buy are VAT-able ie fuel, adult clothes, many food items, toilet paper.

Chinese and Indian inflation is running at around 5% but their GDP is growing between 8 to 10% so joy unlike the UK economy under the ConDems where Inflation is running at 5% but GDP is negative.

Edited 17 February, 2011 by lol

[Kandy]

OUR inflation is also the result of Sterling devaluation feeding through i.e. quantitative easing. Another floater left in the New Labour bog on their way out the door.

[Clunkclick]

Don't worry. Your future income requirements are assured .

All you got to do is put together any old shambolic invoice paperwork you can lay your hands on , submit it to Ministry of Defence and there's a good chance they'll pay it. Best if the subject charge on which the claim is based is at least two years old and it looks like you've found the invoice down the back of the boss's sofa; the contract to which the claim relates should have completed at least two years ago and the Ministry's files containing the contract should have already been sent to archive over a year ago, making verification of the claim that much more difficult.

Please remember to ensure, not to submit a claim for anything less than £50,000 (That's just office boys beer money, I'm told), that none of the signatures on the supporting documentation as well as most of the text and figures are totally illegible,including hand-amended figures, or if they are legible, make sure they are made by an authorising officer that left the organisation at least 18 months ago.

When you're a state-side multinational be like Tesco's motto - "Every little helps".

Well, that's at least what a senior instructed me to scan into a Meridio based documentation system today as an authorised payment. And I rightly queried.

Bent ? Left-handed corkscrews would blush with shame.

Nick

Edited 18 February, 2011 by Clunkclick

[jlwah]

That would be the low pound that has been trading around 1.46-1.61 USD/GBP range for the last 12 months.

Raw material prices are rising yes but it is the Governments introduction of higher Excise and VAT rates that is pushing inflation up more than any other factors as most goods we buy are VAT-able ie fuel, adult clothes, many food items, toilet paper.

Chinese and Indian inflation is running at around 5% but their GDP is growing between 8 to 10% so joy unlike the UK economy under the ConDems where Inflation is running at 5% but GDP is negative.

But a barrel of oil has risen by 33% in the past year and that contributes to an increase in costs for just about everything and is, along with vat on fuel and fuel duty the 2nd biggest contributor to the inflation figures after the vat rise. And who's fuel duty increases are they? - good old Darlings from his last budget, of course. A fact Lol would probably prefer to ignore (along with the rest of the last governments economic ineptitude, no doubt!)

So the only thing you can actually pin on the Coalition is the VAT increase, a measure, incidentally, that Alistair Darling was intending on bringing in as well!

It was laughable watching Mrs Balls on Question Time last night, basically denying there had been any problems, just like her dunce of a husband and not able to answer the question put to her about whether Liam Byrne's note left to the new chancellor was correct or not - utterly shameful!

BTW Indian inflation is running at 9.5%, Chinese 4.7%.

[Kandy]

I think it's also fair to say that none of the published measures of inflation actually reflect the true rate, and segments of the population like OAPs whose proportion of expenditure on unavoidables is greater, probably have a true rate of inflation currently between 10 - 15%.

[jlwah]

I think it's also fair to say that none of the published measures of inflation actually reflect the true rate, and segments of the population like OAPs whose proportion of expenditure on unavoidables is greater, probably have a true rate of inflation currently between 10 - 15%.

That's a good point and in truth, although there is a lot of work done in making sure the CPI and RPI figures are consistent and reliable, inflation affects each and everyone of us in a different way.

There are many ways in which we can mitigate inflation by changing our descretionary buying and consumption habits. For example a decrease of one half a degree on a thermostat would probably more than cover the rise in domestic fuel costs. Switching to just a few cheaper brands in the weekly shop will probably cover the food inflation, changing insurers can often illicit a reduction in premiums paid and more economically minded driving will certainly help to offset the rise in pump prices.

So it's quite possible to maintain a lifestyle without requiring a cost of living pay rise. Indeed that's what most of the private sector employees have had to do over the last three years and the public sector employees are just starting to face now.

We took our son off the insurance of our other car before Christmas and the savings more than outway all the increases resulting from inflation, vat increase and tax rises that'll come through this year!!

['daiking']

We took our son off the insurance of our other car before Christmas and the savings more than outway all the increases resulting from inflation, vat increase and tax rises that'll come through this year!!

The past year I've rented a house but the owner is attempting to sell so he has kicked us out. Next month I'm moving to a house up the road and saving £150 per month. Makes the other increases easier to deal with.

[lol-lol]

But a barrel of oil has risen by 33% in the past year and that contributes to an increase in costs for just about everything and is, along with vat on fuel and fuel duty the 2nd biggest contributor to the inflation figures after the vat rise. And who's fuel duty increases are they? - good old Darlings from his last budget, of course. A fact Lol would probably prefer to ignore (along with the rest of the last governments economic ineptitude, no doubt!)

So the only thing you can actually pin on the Coalition is the VAT increase, a measure, incidentally, that Alistair Darling was intending on bringing in as well!

It was laughable watching Mrs Balls on Question Time last night, basically denying there had been any problems, just like her dunce of a husband and not able to answer the question put to her about whether Liam Byrne's note left to the new chancellor was correct or not - utterly shameful!

BTW Indian inflation is running at 9.5%, Chinese 4.7%.

Yes oil has gone up but the US dollar has got weaker ofsetting some of that, it is currently 1.62 which is the strongest it hs been in about a year. Oil in this country is about 65% tax so oil prices have less of an effect than taxation of the private individual who does not have avoidance measures, like fuel cards where full cost is not charged to the user.

In the US it really hurts when oil goes up as they were paying about 2.70 a few weeks ago and now paying 3.30, similar rise to us but for different reasons, the tax has added about 5p here but also oil companies are raking it in as they have settled on 129.9 for petrol, funny how it is nearly alway **9.9 ! Some station round here selling at 126.9 or 127.9.

Did not see QT. I like Yvette Cooper, I expect she will be very high up in the team to fight the election, somewhat wish she would be leader as a change from male dominated. She is of course Oxford, Harvard and LSE which is getting a bit too common and it would be nice to see some variety in background.

It is the VAT bit that Labour would have different I think. 20% is a huge leap and effects the poor disproportionately. I would like to have seen more even split between the Excise and VAT ie only 1% on VAT and 2p on Excise to encourage lower carbon maybe more economical driving by trucks etc.

China currently has a big gap between GDP and inflation ie about 5%, India fairly neutral and the rise in food and oil must be way tougher than it is for us.

Any road up, still in mind to demand 6% for pay rise although since my new employer agreed to enrole me early in the pension scheme and are starting to put in 5% of pay in to pension scheme I might settle for a bit less ie 3 or 4 but it has got to be worth working for the company else working for yourself or semi retiring looks attractive which still being in one's 40s is wierd when they want us to work until 66 or so when the ConDems have conspired to create 20% unemployment in the under 25s. I for one am not working full when kids are unemployed it is sowing the seeds of disaster!

Edited 18 February, 2011 by lol

[Kandy]

"when the ConDems have conspired to create 20% unemployment in the under 25s"

Sorry, but the trend to high young unemployment very much started under Labour. And it was heavily offset by their 'degrees for all' dumbing down. Now all those people are piling into a jobs market with worthless degrees and unrealistic expectations of salaries and careers.

[cheezemonkhai]

Dollar didn't go up as much as the GB Pound went down.

That's what tends to happen when you start printing money along with inflation

Now remind me who thought it was a good idea to print money... sorry "Quantitatively Ease".

As for VAT... you know you can avoid luxuries.

It really gets me to see "the poor" driving around cars, wearing designer clothing and having expensive accessories, when they are in houses paid for by benefits and not having council tax, while I'm paying through the nose.

They have everything I have and a lot more and I have to pay for them to have it. How can they be "poor" if they have everything a person working has and more?

Sorry, but if you want a council house and you want to have things paid for, if you have a car then there has to be some compromise.

If you go onto long term benefits or have never been employed, then you should have to sell that car and use the money or have it taken into account for any benefits you get.

A car is a luxury. If you really need to you can get around on buses/trains, walk or even use a taxi for the odd occasion you really need to get to somewhere for something real (eg a job interview). A taxi one day every week is still far cheaper than running a car for a year with the same mileage.

[jlwah]

Did not see QT. I like Yvette Cooper, I expect she will be very high up in the team to fight the election, somewhat wish she would be leader as a change from male dominated. She is of course Oxford, Harvard and LSE which is getting a bit too common and it would be nice to see some variety in background.

It is the VAT bit that Labour would have different I think. 20% is a huge leap and effects the poor disproportionately. I would like to have seen more even split between the Excise and VAT ie only 1% on VAT and 2p on Excise to encourage lower carbon maybe more economical driving by trucks etc.

I for one am not working full when kids are unemployed it is sowing the seeds of disaster!

I'm not suprised you like Mrs Balls, her views and ideas are equally ill founded.

I'm sure she'll be in the "very high" team to fight the election, partly because she's a woman, but doubt she'll make it to the top though, firstly because of her power hungry husband and secondly, she was treasury secretary and hence partly responsible for Labours economic mess.

Labour will need to get through a few leaders and clear out the likes of the Milibands, the Balls, the Alexanders and Denhams before it'll be electable again. Given that Labour have no mechanism for getting rid of unpopular/unwanted leaders, that'll thankfully be a long time away.

I'm pretty certain Darling was talking of taking VAT up to 20%, so there's no difference in policy there.

And as for "sowing the seeds" I think you'll find they were planted, fertilised and carefully nutured during the years 1999 to 2010 inclusive!

[Paul007]

Everyone forgets the fallout from 1979-1997 conveniently don't they....

3.0m unemployed....not far off that now

skyhigh inflation...it's on its way

fuel taxed at every opportunity.

Need I go on.

[Browny_37]

I'll get nothing as normal. Havent had a cost of living wage rise in 10 years.

I've only had one cost of living payrise and that was a few years since, what extra i've earned is down to progressing with qualifications and then doing the work that qualification allows me to do.

['daiking']

Yes oil has gone up but the US dollar has got weaker ofsetting some of that, it is currently 1.62 which is the strongest it hs been in about a year. Oil in this country is about 65% tax so oil prices have less of an effect than taxation of the private individual who does not have avoidance measures, like fuel cards where full cost is not charged to the user.

In the US it really hurts when oil goes up as they were paying about 2.70 a few weeks ago and now paying 3.30, similar rise to us but for different reasons, the tax has added about 5p here but also oil companies are raking it in as they have settled on 129.9 for petrol, funny how it is nearly alway **9.9 ! Some station round here selling at 126.9 or 127.9.

Did not see QT. I like Yvette Cooper, I expect she will be very high up in the team to fight the election, somewhat wish she would be leader as a change from male dominated. She is of course Oxford, Harvard and LSE which is getting a bit too common and it would be nice to see some variety in background.

It is the VAT bit that Labour would have different I think. 20% is a huge leap and effects the poor disproportionately. I would like to have seen more even split between the Excise and VAT ie only 1% on VAT and 2p on Excise to encourage lower carbon maybe more economical driving by trucks etc.

China currently has a big gap between GDP and inflation ie about 5%, India fairly neutral and the rise in food and oil must be way tougher than it is for us.

Any road up, still in mind to demand 6% for pay rise although since my new employer agreed to enrole me early in the pension scheme and are starting to put in 5% of pay in to pension scheme I might settle for a bit less ie 3 or 4 but it has got to be worth working for the company else working for yourself or semi retiring looks attractive which still being in one's 40s is wierd when they want us to work until 66 or so when the ConDems have conspired to create 20% unemployment in the under 25s. I for one am not working full when kids are unemployed it is sowing the seeds of disaster!

Everyone forgets the fallout from 1979-1997 conveniently don't they....

3.0m unemployed....not far off that now

skyhigh inflation...it's on its way

fuel taxed at every opportunity.

Need I go on.

Would it be against forum rules to compare thee to "Pinko and the Brain"?

[Paul007]

that's about the most appropriate comment

[lol-lol]

Would it be against forum rules to compare thee to "Pinko and the Brain"?

Love Warner Bros stuff like that. We use to have a WB shop in Merry Hill in the Black country but it closed a decade or so ago, shame.

With Cameron and Clegg now fighting and the cuts being levied unfairly against the masses then the start of the break up is hopefully not too far away.

Have to start working on SWMBO's tax soon as don't want her pay to also be swallowed up by the grab on the middle classes as people like nurses and teachers will now be falling in to the higher tax band as they lower the threshold.

Plan around it or loose it to the Sheriffs of Sheffield Hallam and Whitney.

Edited 18 February, 2011 by lol

[jlwah]

Have to start working on SWMBO's tax soon as don't want her pay to also be swallowed up by the grab on the middle classes as people like nurses and teachers will now be falling in to the higher tax band as they lower the threshold.

But the lower threshold is to offset the increase in their tax free pay - net difference is zero.

[Can]

"when the ConDems have conspired to create 20% unemployment in the under 25s"

Sorry, but the trend to high young unemployment very much started under Labour. And it was heavily offset by their 'degrees for all' dumbing down. Now all those people are piling into a jobs market with worthless degrees and unrealistic expectations of salaries and careers.

Just be glad you don't have to work with the muppets that where the output of this rediculous system. They have no understanding of the concequences of things and due to the state molly coddelign they like most of todays students haven't got a real clue when it comes to the proper privet sector working enviroment. For engineering graduates some of them realy make me worried, as I'm sure I could convince them to stick there fingers into live electrical sockets with a litte work.

Also if more of them didn't have such blatently useless degrees as social siences and art history they might be of use in the job market but they don't they all of these rediculous degrees which have never had realistic job prospects. But Labour where more interested in getting graduate numbers up rather than insuring they actually had usable skills.

[Stuart_J]

Just be glad you don't have to work with the muppets that where the output of this rediculous system. They have no understanding of the concequences of things and due to the state molly coddelign they like most of todays students haven't got a real clue when it comes to the proper privet sector working enviroment. For engineering graduates some of them realy make me worried, as I'm sure I could convince them to stick there fingers into live electrical sockets with a litte work.

Also if more of them didn't have such blatently useless degrees as social siences and art history they might be of use in the job market but they don't they all of these rediculous degrees which have never had realistic job prospects. But Labour where more interested in getting graduate numbers up rather than insuring they actually had usable skills.

In time we will see how government has cheated a whole generation with false hopes & qualifications that many will become to realise are worth less than they thought. Putting thousands into education & training reduced the jobless figures. Training would be good if done properly but they set up a system where colleges & schools all worked to achieve the best results for league tables so it was in their interest to "help" students get good results but this dosent teach people to work hard. Also some more manual skills were suddenly achievable in far less time, an apprentiship in car body repair used to take 5 years. A friend runs car repair shop & hes tried a few with NVQ's & the like & said all were lazy & lacked even basic skills in some areas. A qualification is only enough to get the job then you have to work. I hear many employers saying young qualified people expect to be paid if they turn up & do "just enough". Hence why many are favouring foreign workers who are Im sorry to say can be harder workers, essential in these hard times. My Son now 19 decided against Uni after A levels & got a job, something I questioned at the time but Im now convinced hes doing the right thing

[lol-lol]

But the lower threshold is to offset the increase in their tax free pay - net difference is zero.

The lower limit for 20% tax is going up by about £1K in April but the upper threshold is coming down by £2K and one must add in the 1% increased NI contribution which effectvely makes the lower tax rate 21% as NI is real just a component of the lower tax rate so there is a breakpoint around £22K where people will pay more. £22K is the salary where it appears the Con-Dems want to pay all the Proletariat judging by their Civil service restrain. With the extra VAT clearly the idea is to lower labour costs by 10 or 20% too make Britain a place where massive company profits can be made.

Demand inflation matching pay rises (at least).

Edited 19 February, 2011 by lol