Grocery giant Sainsbury’s has increased rates of basic hourly pay for store staff to £10 an hour minimum and pledged pay rises for drivers as part of a £100m investment.
The grocer said all Sainsbury’s and Argos store staff would have their basic hourly pay rate increased from £9.50 an hour to £10 minimum across the UK, while online delivery drivers would see their pay jump to £11.50 an hour, from March 6.
Sainsbury’s said the pay rises were a 5.3% increase for staff this year, which “exceeds the National Living Wage and the National Real Living Wage” increase due later in 2022.
Sainsbury’s said it had increased the basic hourly pay of its store staff by 25% in the last five years across the country.
As part of the new package, the grocer has extended its staff discount to 10% across its Sainsbury’s, Argos and Habitat brands “in recognition of the extraordinary work they do for customers”. The retailer said this would save staff up to £300 a year.
The grocer said the pay increase “reflects [the] progress Sainsbury’s is making to save to invest in lower prices, offer leading colleague service and make shopping convenient”.
Chief executive Simon Roberts said: “To kick off the new year, I am pleased that one of the first things we are doing is investing in our colleagues and lifting our basic hourly rate of pay to £10. We are making this significant investment to show our colleagues how much we value the brilliant job they do for our customers every day. It also reflects the significant progress we are making against our plan and to save money we can invest in lower prices, offer fantastic colleague service and make shopping convenient for customers.
“We have also listened to our colleagues and are enhancing our colleague discount scheme to help them plan their grocery spend and manage their shopping budgets better, which could save colleagues hundreds of pounds a year.”
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