Retailers have been reminded to share their views on the National Minimum Wage (NMW) in an Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) survey.

Chief executive James Lowman said retailers need to submit their responses in order for the Low Pay Commission (LPC) to have a clear view on the impact of another potential rise in NMW.

“Employment costs are the biggest outgoing for convenience store retailers and we want to ensure that we can provide the Low Pay Commission with robust evidence on the impact of the national minimum wage on local shops and their employment habits,” said Lowman.

Deadline for submissions is August 10 and the ACS will present the findings to the LPC ahead of its decision for 2013. The survey covers staff employment levels, how staffing costs have impacted businesses and the number of hours  worked by staff and retailers.

The ACS survey is available here.

The NMW rate for adults is set to increase by 11p to £6.19 an hour from 1 October 2012 while the Youth Development and the 16-17 Year-Old rates will remain at £4.98 and £3.68 respectively. The LPC also recommended that the Apprentice Rate be increased by 5p to £2.65 an hour from 1 October 2012.