Thank you for contacting me about staff pay at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
So long as organisations are abiding by the law I do not believe it is for Members of Parliament to tell them how to set their wage levels. Of course I believe that all employees should be paid a fair wage for the work that they do and that wages should reflect a range of factors such as the area in which the employer is headquartered, the experience of the staff, the nature of the role, etc.
To the extent that employers can pay their staff the 'real living wage' that is of course a good thing, however, given that this Government has hit organisations with National Insurance hikes, business rates rises, inflation busting minimum wage rises, and the Employment Rights Act it is a very difficult time for organisations and is leaving many looking at job cuts and pauses to wage rises to cope with rising costs.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
