Autumn Budget 2021- What Beauty Bosses need to know

“Employment is up, investment is growing, public services are improving, public finances are stabilising and wages are rising.” - the words of Sunak today as he opened up todays budget.

It all sounded vey positive, but what WE want to know is, how will it impact your beauty business? So we put together the following:

💅🏼National Living Wage & National Minimum Wage

Compared to 2020, wages have grown by 3.4%. This move will help more than two million of the lowest-paid workers, Mr Sunak says.

The National Living Wage will rise by 6.6% from the current living wage of £8.91 to £9.50 per hour from 1 April, which the government says will give full-time workers an extra £1,000 a year.

The National Living Wage is what the government has called the National Minimum Wage for anybody above 23-years-old. The National Minimum Wage is for anybody below this age, but both wages see a rise in the Budget.

People aged 21 to 22 will see an increase to £9.18 an hour from £8.36 and apprentices, who must be aged 16 or over and not in full-time education, will get a rise to £4.81 from £4.30 an hour.

💅🏼Fuel duty

For those of you that are a mobile beauty business, and rely on travel to/from a salon or clients homes, there’s good news – as Sunak revealed he is scrapping the planned rise in fuel duty.

💅🏼Education

The government has confirmed a £3bn initiative to help young people across the UK, including funding for colleges, to provide additional classroom hours for 100,000 16 to 19-year olds taking the vocational T Levels, as well as create 24,000 new apprenticeships.

Apprenticeship funding will increase to £2.7 billion in 2024-25, and over £900 million for each year across the country on work coaches, to ensure Universal Credit claimants receive the best support to find employment. The government is also permanently cutting the Universal Credit taper rate by 8% from 63p to 55p.

💅🏼Unemployment rates

There are over two million fewer people out of work than previously thought, with unemployment set to peak at 5.2%.

Funding has also been confirmed for the Restart scheme in England and Wales, to continue providing intensive and tailored support to long-term unemployed people to help them find work. 

£90 million has also been budgeted to extend the Job Entry Targeted Support Scheme, to the end of September 2022, which helps those that have been unemployed between three and 12 months, to find a job. 

For more information about the Autumn Budget, visit www.gov.uk