// Tesco gives shop and warehouse staff 10.45% pay rise
// Pay rise is offset by ending 3.5% annual bonus
// Tesco CEO Dave Lewis could see pay packet scrutinised at AGM this week
Tesco is giving its shop and warehouse staff a 10.45 per cent rise in hourly pay over the next two years by doing away with their annual bonus.
In September, the UK’s largest supermarket will increase minimum hourly pay for its store and warehouse workers from £8.42 to £9.
The move brings Tesco in line with the rates paid by Lidl and Asda.
While the pay rise will be the equivalent of nearly £1,200 to someone working a 30-hour week, it will be offset by the annual cash bonus, of 3.5 per cent which Tesco has stopped.
Last year Sainsbury’s announced it would be increasing hourly pay for its store workers from a base rate of £8.00 to £9.20 per hour. For colleagues working in stores in Zones 1 and 2 of London, this will increase to £9.80 per hour.
Those increases came at the expense of paid breaks and bonuses, although workers have been promised another review of their pay in March 2020.
Tesco’s increase brings it ahead of Morrisons staff, who are expected to get a pay rise this autumn, although they currently receive a bonus equivalent to up to 3 per cent of annual salary.
Waitrose pays ranges from £7.21 per hour for gas station attendant to £11.00 per hour for cashier.
Last month Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis took home a pay packet worth £4.6 million, four months after 9000 jobs across the grocery giant were placed under review.
The Big 4 retailer’s annual report revealed that Lewis earned a £1.6 million bonus, on top of his £1.25 million base salary and £1.3 million through long-term share plans.
With Tesco’s annual general meeting set for this Thursday June 13, it’s likely the chief’s pay packet will come under scrutiny with Tesco’s major cost-cutting drive also underway as part of Lewis’ turnaround strategy.
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