Nursery World - Living wage would add thousands to weekly costs, report finds

Settings in Birmingham would have to increase budgets by nearly a fifth to pay staff the living wage, a landmark report has found.

Nurseries would face bills of nearly £2,000 more per 30-hour working week if they gave all staff the same percentage wage rise. This equates to a jump of 17 per cent or 61p per hour, the report by auditors KPMG said.

Even if only those staff paid below the living wage were given increases, which was not a likely scenario, this would mean an 11 per cent rise in staff costs.

The £273,000 study, which analysed responses from 64 day nurseries and 15 childminders, none of whom paid all of their staff the living wage, was commissioned by the council following a dispute with nursery owners over wages.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included