Online retail business Amazon has given its UK operations employees a pay increase as part of a more than £125 million pay investment made over the past seven months.
The minimum starting pay for UK hourly paid Amazon workers will be raised to between £11 and £12 per hour, depending on their location. This is above the national living wage, which is rising to £10.42 per hour next month, as well as the real living wage, which is £10.90 across the UK and £11.95 in London.
In January 2023, Amazon employees working in a fulfilment centre based in Coventry went on strike in a UK first, after 98% of those balloted voted to strike over a 50 pence per hour pay offer. Trade union GMB reported that 300 warehouse employees out of a total 1,000 walked out for 24 hours.
An Amazon spokesperson said: “We regularly review our pay to ensure we offer competitive wages, and we’re pleased to be announcing another increase for our UK teams. Over the past seven months, our minimum pay has risen by 10% and by more than 37% since 2018. We also work hard to provide great benefits, a positive work environment and excellent career opportunities.
“These are just some of the reasons people want to come and work at Amazon, whether it’s their first job, a seasonal role or an opportunity for them to advance their career.”
Amazon offers staff private medical insurance (PMI), life assurance, subsidised meals, an employee discount, and career development opportunities through its Career Choice initiative, where it will pay 95% of an employee’s tuition fees to help them fulfil their work ambitions, including learning new languages. It also gave full-time, part-time and seasonal frontline employees an additional one-time special payment of up to £500 at Christmas.