7 January 2025
Review of Qualifications Reform
The Government has announced the outcomes of the Review of Qualifications Reform.
The review confirms that T Levels provide an excellent option for 16-19 learners and where learners wish to study a large qualification in a T Level route, the T Level should be the main option for them.
You can see the full press release here: Courses key to government growth mission will stay - GOV.UK.
Cost of employing low-wage workers to hit record high in 2025, according to new analysis
This year will be the most expensive on record for businesses who employ workers on the minimum wage, according to new analysis. Research by the Centre for Policy Studies shows that the tax wedge – the combined amount of tax paid by employees and employers – for those on minimum wage will equate to a shocking 21.3% of salary in 2025.
Since the minimum wage was introduced in 1999, the tax wedge has fluctuated. In 2010, it stood at 18% but the Coalition government reduced this to 11% in 2015, primarily by increasing the income tax personal allowance. Although this increased over time, owing to wages rising faster than the personal allowance thresholds, by 2024 the amount of tax paid per minimum wage worker stood at 17.5% of the salary – still lower than in 2010.
However, the rise in employer’s National Insurance in the Budget and the dramatic reduction in the threshold at which it is paid mean that 21.3% of the cost of employing a full-time worker on the minimum wage will go in tax. Coupled with increases to the minimum wage, it will cost businesses £2,367 more to employ a full-time worker on the minimum wage than it did in 2024, which will have an obvious impact on hiring decisions for the lowest paid.