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Sainsbury’s unveils ‘biggest ever investment’ to give staff a pay rise

Sainsbury

Sainsburys unveils biggest ever investment in higher staff pay

Sainsbury's is investing a total of £205 million to recognise its staff's "incredible hard work" while also giving them a pay rise.

The supermarket has raised co-worker pay to at least £11 an hour.

Hourly wages at Sainsbury's and Argos will rise from £10.25 to £11.00 and from £11.30 to £11.95 respectively in London.

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Additionally, Sainsbury's is delaying its annual wage rise until February in order to assist employees with growing living expenses.

The increase brings the remuneration for hourly-paid front-line co-workers to 10 percent over the past year and 38 percent over the past six years.

Due to the success of the initiative, Sainsbury's has also decided to extend free food during shifts for store and depot employees for another six months.

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The supermarket giant is also introducing longer Argos discounts for employees.

As part of their incentive package, employees will receive increased Sainsbury's discounts.

All colleagues received a 15 percent Sainsbury's discount throughout December, as well as an additional discount at Argos on select days leading up to Christmas, as well as a £15 Sainsbury's voucher and the introduction of Pay Advance with Salary Finance.

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Sainsbury's Save to Invest programme, which focuses on making the business simpler and more efficient, is funding the additional colleague investment.

CEO Simon Roberts said: “We are acutely aware of how tough things are for millions of households this winter and we know that particularly after Christmas, budgets will be tighter than ever.

“As well as doing all we can to keep prices low for customers, it’s our job to support our colleagues as they face rising costs. That’s why we are bringing forward the increase and committing a total of £205 million to increase pay to at least £11 per hour this year.

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“We know that colleagues really appreciate having something to eat at work too, so we have also extended the provision of free food during shifts for an extra six months, as well as increasing colleague discount at Argos.

“This is a massive investment that reflects the real challenges our people are facing right now. I’m really pleased that the progress we are making against our strategy means that we can continue to prioritise investing in colleagues to reward them for the fantastic service they deliver every day.”

Source: Retail Gazette

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