The cost of living... what can we do?

Yes, London weighting is (was) a thing, but that is a dated concept that does not apply to all industries and indeed has been dropped by many companies as it is little more than an insult to be fair. Mrs C actually gets it and it equates to 80p per hour - if she transfers to the branch in Staines, she loses that because it is 'outside' of the London area... housing costs are just the same though.

My own company is really (really) struggling to recruit with three sites in particular being difficult to fill -- they are the ones that sit right on the edge or into Central London; the blunt truth is that bus drivers cannot afford to live in those areas, and they can rarely commute in because there is next to no parking or the parking that is available costs a bomb.

Also, the excuse that I am in an expensive area doesn't really wash anymore - the areas with reasonable rent costs are far, far fewer than you might imagine. A very quick search up near my mum for example and the cheapest 2 bed house is £950 a month - Check out this 2 bedroom semi-detached house for rent on Rightmove

 

Can't they take the bus home with them?

 

Errrr... no

 

And you get nowhere near enough in terms of State Pension as far as I am concerned - indeed, your council tax should be reduced also.

 

Well, if we didn't have governments wasting billions on vanity projects and errors, maybe there would be more money available for those who should get it? Also, need to deal with the great many who could work, but don't. And of course the now many millions spent on looking after dinghy divers.

 

Just done a quick calculation on Scotland @pete - the SNP apparently 'lost' £4bn of covid support money and it has never been chased. There are roughly 847,000 pensioners in Scotland so that money would have given each of them over £4500 more for a year.

 

Spoilsport!

 

@pete do you claim your single person discount?