Luxury car manufacturer Bentley has agreed a 6.5% pay increase for more than 2,000 employees based in Crewe, Cheshire, as part of a new pay deal.
The pay deal, which was negotiated with trade union Unite, will be backdated to 1 January 2017. The deal will see employees’ working hours reduced from 37 hours a week to 35 hours a week from 1 January 2019. This reduction will not result in a loss of pay.
Staff will also receive a consolidated payment worth £900 over the three years, and there will be the potential for employees to earn significant bonuses linked to delivery, quality and efficiency over this period. The agreement also includes improvements to sick pay and holiday pay premiums.
Bentley employees who are members of Unite voted in favour of the new pay deal by a margin of three to one.
Phil Morgan, regional officer at Unite, said: “Members have overwhelmingly supported this pay deal as they recognise that it provides a significant increase in pay as well as a dramatic improvement in conditions.
“This was an important deal for both Unite and Bentley as it allows the [organisation] to plan ahead, particularly in relation to new model development and gives members a great deal of security in what is a very uncertain time for car makers.
“By agreeing a multi-year pay deal all sides now know exactly where they stand as we continue with the countdown to Brexit. Without this multi-year pay deal there would inevitably have been an increasing amount of uncertainty, which is what all parties wanted to avoid.”
Bentley declined to comment.
