Christmas has come early for UK Ikea workers, as they are set to receive a 10% salary bonus in the New Year. The multinational group that provides notoriously named furniture and home accessories will move its hourly rate up, leaving those shop floor staff on an average of £7.13, with an extra £1,446 per year in their back pocket.

The move comes after an 11% increase across the UK stores, equating to an advantageous £1.41bill over the year. This has allowed the Swedish brand to increase the wages of 7,900 of its UK employees and to set their hourly wages at 63p more than the current national minimum wage of £6.50. According to PayScale, an online pay comparison site, this will leave Ikea at only 3% below the market with staff wages. This is significantly less than competitor Argos, which pays its employees 10% less than its average competitor, shelling out around £6.84 per hour.

The hefty bonus comes as no surprise, as Ikea urges its staff “to have fun”, with learning support and coaching being “a way of life at Ikea”. This method is backed up by the job satisfaction statistics found on their website. Ikea has reported that 80% of its staff are left feeling inspired at work and that 90% of co-workers understand Ikea‘s purpose. This has influenced figures reported by IB Times, that 47% of UK co-workers have worked for the company for five or more years.

With Russia, China and Poland representing Ikea‘s fastest growing markets and over 127,000 employees globally, it shouldn‘t be long before other non-UK stores follow suit. Already staff at an Ikea in Delft have been handing out chocolate money to customers, in a hope that they will sign their petition for a higher increase than the 0.8% they have been offered.

Ikea are also making headlines with plans being released on December 3rd for further expansion and work to increase a rooftop solar array on its Canton, Michigan store. This will include a 240.9-kW system built with 765 panels, producing 287,490 kWh more electricity annually. With 351 stores in 43 countries, it is a busy time for the superstore, as it continues to stay true to its business vision of creating a better everyday life.