Has the chancellor got the balance right with the NLW?

There was bad news for hospitality at the Conservative party conference this week. The industry is under pressure from many angles, but on Tuesday chancellor Sajid Javid announced plans to take one of the more acute pressure points, the National Living Wage, and increase it from its current rate of £8.21 to £10.50 inside five years. That’s a potential 28% hike by 2024, or an average 5.6% hit on the bottom line every year.