Jim Armitage: Here’s a tip - the living wage may not serve staff too well

Chancellors are all about give and take. Rarely has that been so true for business as in yesterday’s Summer Budget.

Having had the night to digest the small print, most bosses seem to have decided that the “give” bit, reduced corporation tax, is enough to offset the “take”, primarily the higher minimum wage.

But that’s not to say there aren’t some serious concerns around the pay issue, particularly among those running the big companies with generous perks on top of the simple hourly pay rate.

As one of the country’s biggest retailers told me this morning, his workers enjoy generous pensions, big staff discounts, paid days off to do charity work and other popular fringe benefits.

Let’s hope the Living Wage doesn’t force companies to crimp them.

A big player in the hospitality world predicts some in his industry will rethink the current best practice of not including tips for waiters and waitresses as part of the minimum wage calculation.

London’s restaurant staff could be about to get a whole lot surlier.