Currys boss Alex Baldock has claimed the government’s minimum wage rise means it does not understand or care about UK retailers.
The remarks follow Jeremy Hunt revealing plans to raise the legal minimum wage to £11.44 per hour from April 2024, making it almost a 10% hike.
The news means businesses will pay full-time workers around £1,800 extra per year.
However, Baldock said the move meant high street retailers like Currys, which are also braced for a business rates rise, face significant pressure.
The CEO said: “We believe we are paying our colleagues well and we certainly intend to continue to.
“That said, for the retail industry as a whole, having a big hike in the ‘national living wage’ at the same time as an expected half a billion pound increase in the rates bill just shows how little the government appears to understand or care about this industry.”
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He continued: “There are 3m jobs at stake in UK retail, and loading more costs on to an already overburdened sector is irresponsible, and we call for a change of heart on it.”
The news comes as high street stores will face a collective £1.95bn inflation related local tax rise in 2024.
Last year, the chancellor capped business rates for companies in retail, leisure and hospitality and implemented a 75% discount worth up to £110,000 per company, with the discounts due to expire in March 2024.
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