October was a milestone month for the Labour Government’s ‘Making Work Pay’ initiative, with the introduction of the Employment Rights Bill, significant increases to the National Living Wage (NLW), and the increase in Employer’s National Insurance Contributions (NIC). There are certainly a number of positive movements for working people, however, they may come at a cost to employers.

It will be interesting to see how more attractive working conditions impact the economically inactive, particularly those in Gen Z. The number of young people not in work or education has spiked post-COVID and according to the latest data from Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) and Office for National Statistics (ONS) this has been particularly prevalent in Northern

Ireland -