// Sainsbury’s & Argos shop staff to receive £9.50p/hr, while those in central London stores will receive £10.10p/hr
// Sainsbury’s staff currently receive £9.30 an hour while Argos workers get £9 an hour
// A 3% annual bonus will also be paid out to frontline staff, meaning a full-time worker will take home an extra £530
Sainsbury’s will increase salaries for staff at its supermarkets and Argos stores and pay a bonus to frontline workers – the third since the pandemic started, the retailer said.
Sainsbury’s staff currently receive £9.30 an hour while Argos workers get £9 an hour, but from March this will rise to £9.50 per hour.
Staff at central London stores will see their hourly pay rise to £10.10.
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A three per cent annual bonus will also be paid out to frontline staff, meaning a full-time worker will take home an extra £530.
The announcement comes after Lidl announced a £200 bonus for its 23,000 UK workers, Aldi revealed a wage increase to a minimum of £9.55 an hour, and Morrisons said its shopworkers would take home at least £10 an hour from April.
Supermarkets have been one of the biggest winners during the Covid-19 pandemic, remaining open throughout and enjoying strong sales as non-essential retailers, pubs, cafes, restaurants, hairdressers and beauty salons remain shut.
The latest pay rise from Sainsbury’s means workers at the retailer have seen salaries increase 24 per cent over the last five years.
The bonus is also the third since the pandemic and means the retail giant has handed out more than £100 million in extra cash to workers.
A 10 per cent pay boost was made between March and April last year and a second boost of 10 per cent for four weeks in November.
In March last year, Sainsbury’s also increased pay for store staff to £9.30 per hour, while pay for workers in central London – zones 1 and 2 on the London Underground map – received £9.90 per hour.
Sainsbury’s and other grocers had faced criticism earlier in the crisis when attention appeared to be focused on handing out dividends to shareholders from the extra profits generated during the pandemic.
However, several agreed to hand back cash saved from business rates holidays, and increased pay rates, paid bonuses and agreed to Boxing Day holidays before making the dividend payments.
“In the last 12 months our frontline colleagues have shown outstanding commitment to our customers,” Sainsbury’s retail director Clodagh Moriarty said.
“In recognition of everything they have achieved, we are giving them a pay rise, plus an additional one-off payment.”
with PA Wires
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