Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and the Yahoo Answers website is now in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

? asked in Politics & GovernmentLaw & Ethics · 3 months ago

why are wages so low in the UK compared to countries like Australia ?

I'm from Australia and stuck in the UK due to covid 19 staying with aunt until the pandemic is somewhat over. Anyway working at ASDA doing the exact same job i was doing in Australia at a supermarket. However the wages are terrible from an australian stand point, in order to earn the amount i get back home i have to work much longer hours just to get close to what i was getting. You don't get penalty rates here (more per hour if you are contracted to weekends, or forced to work public holidays) you just get normal rate which is unfair. As far as im aware it depends on your contract but in Australia its the law to make it fair for all but no such thing here.

Why is this? 

3 Answers

Relevance
  • Anonymous
    3 months ago
    Favorite Answer

    Over a decade of a Tory government will do that.

    Workers in the gig economy have no rights, they are at the employer's mercy in the UK

  • Tavy
    Lv 7
    3 months ago

    We have a TV series here of people trying out life in Australia.your cost of living is Huge, most groceries and rents are almost double than the U.K. so your higher wages go no farther than you are earning here.

  • 3 months ago

    Flexible employment rules encourage employers to hire people.  That particularly benefits younger people who are looking to get a foot on the ladder.  They do not need to support families, they need work experience. 

    If ASDA was required to 'make it fair for all' (by which I presume you mean pay a higher minimum wage), they would hire fewer people.  They might (for example) convert all the tills to self serve and give more hours to their existing staff.  When a supermarket near me was required to pay a minimum wage, they had to end the scheme where they bused in disabled young people as baggers.  They loved the work and we customers loved them but because they had to be retrained every day, the supermarket could not afford to pay them the same way as their regular staff.  So who do you think lost out?

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.