Nhf condemns proposed apprentice minimum wage

National Hairdressers’ Federation president Paul Curry has condemned business secretary Vince Cable’s proposal for a £3.79 apprentice minimum wage. “Mr Cable’s proposal – to merge the minimum wage for apprentices (currently £2.73 an hour) with that of employees aged 16-17 (currently £3.79 an hour) – would be disastrous, not just for our industry but for young people too,” he said. “As an industry, hairdressing is deeply committed to helping young people through apprenticeships. But it is also low-wage and labour-intensive. So an increase of this magnitude would have a significant effect. “It would simply deter salons from taking on apprentices. If it’s going to cost the same to take on a young person who’s already fully trained and able to contribute to a salon’s bottom line as it is to take on someone who’s untrained, there will be no incentive to choose the apprentice. “That will be bad news for young people wanting to go into hairdressing; it will be bad news for youth unemployment; it’ll be bad news for the high street and it’ll be bad news for our industry as it’ll prevent new talent from coming through. “Moreover, it appears that under Mr Cable’s plan the new combined rate will only apply to apprentices aged 16-17, with older apprentices, aged 18 or over, going on to the 18-20 rate (currently £5.13 an hour). “That will be even worse than the current situation, where apprentices aged 19 or over go on to the higher rate, something our members have consistently complained is unfair on youngsters who want to come into hairdressing at a later age because it makes it much harder for them to get a foot in the door. “In our evidence this year to the Low Pay Commission we called for a simpler and fairer ‘single age’ apprentice minimum wage. Mr Cable also speaks about making the minimum wage simpler. But this plan is definitely not the answer, and we urge him to think again.”