• Wilko set to remove extra pay for staff working unsocial hours 
  • Basic pay for over 25s will rise to £7.65 in light of living wage
  • Extra costs will ‘reduce profits’, Wilko says

Value retailer Wilko could scrap the premiums it pays staff for working Sundays and bank holidays, according to reports.

Wilko is planning the move because of the Government’s new living wage, according to documents seen by The Daily Mail.

The privately-owned retailer currently pays its 18,000 staff either time-and-a-half or double time for working Sundays, bank holidays, unsocial hours, night shifts or doing more than 39 hours per week.

However, the premiums are set to be scrapped in the next two months, according to the paper.

Wilko reported a plunge in profits in its last full-year and has struggled in the face of competition from the likes of B&M and Poundland.

The retailer will instead increase the basic pay of over 25s to £7.65. Staff aged 21 to 24 will get £7.20 an hour and under 21s £6.85 an hour.

“Some of the increases will be offset by the removal of the majority of our current premium payments,” the documents said.

But it added: “The remaining cost will reduce profits, demonstrating our commitment to investing in team members’ pay and benefits.”

From April, all employers will have to pay staff over 25 a minimum of £7.20 under George Osborne’s living wage.

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