Living wage expected to rise to £13.20 as Aldi plans seven new stores
Pay and prices lead today's news, alongside Aldi's November openings, new leadership appointments and reports of growing insolvency risk at Poundland.
In brief
- Chancellor John Healey is expected to announce a 3.9% rise in the National Living Wage, from £12.71 to £13.20 an hour.
- Aldi will open seven new stores across the UK in November, creating up to 210 jobs.
- Poundland is reportedly facing a growing risk of insolvency after its major shareholder declined to back a solvent takeover proposal.
- Shop price inflation rose to 2.1% year on year in October, against 1.4% in September.
- WHSmith is rolling out the x-hoppers communication platform to more than 300 UK stores after a pilot delivered sales increases of up to 22 per cent.
Jobs and people
The £13.20 minimum wage is set to apply from April 20271. The Chancellor is also set to pause youth pay parity2.
Under new third-party harassment rules, businesses that fail to address harassment of staff by customers could face employment tribunal claims and compensation awards1. Separately, retail intelligence firm SAI says shoplifting incidents could rise by as much as 150 per cent year-on-year because Halloween falls on a Saturday2.
Samworth Brothers has appointed former Co-op boss Steve Murrells as its next chief executive, succeeding Simon Wookey1. Halfords has appointed Lee Mountain as Commercial Director for Motoring and Services2.
For people starting out, JD Sports has launched a new package of career support that includes online work experience1. DPD UK has committed to 24,000 mentoring sessions in its first year, aimed at improving young people's preparedness for work2.
Stores and openings
Aldi's seven November openings come amid a £370m investment1. Lindt & Sprüngli is opening a chocolate shop on Buchanan Street, Glasgow2. New Balance has opened a London Brand Hub in Covent Garden3, and BADGE has chosen Dalton Park Outlet & Outdoors for its new outlet store4.
In London, Oxford Street became pedestrianised as of Monday 26 October1. The new Harry Potter store there opens its doors in one week2.
Money and results
Food inflation increased to 2.9 per cent year-on-year in October1. The BRC is calling for action ahead of the Budget2 and warning that otherwise prices will keep on rising3. Asda's latest Income Tracker found spending power has slowed for a third month, and the lowest-income families face a £76 weekly shortfall4.
Shoe Zone has braced investors for a £1 million full-year loss and reported sliding sales due to cost pressures1. At Poundland, three directors appointed to oversee its sale reportedly prepared to resign following a dispute2. Reckitt posted mixed third quarter results and lowered its outlook3.
Our take
The rise to £13.20 is expected but not yet confirmed, so watch for the official announcement and check how it would apply to your own pay. If you are looking for work, Aldi's openings are worth noting, and there are 608 Aldi roles live on TRAP today out of 19,380 in total. The new harassment rules are also a good prompt to ask your employer how it supports staff who deal with difficult customers.
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