Sainsbury’s is to give some 137,000 store-based employees a 4% salary increase.
The pay rise, which will come into effect from 30 August, will increase Sainsbury’s standard rate of pay to £7.36 per hour.
This is the highest pay increase for store staff that the supermarket has awarded in more than a decade, and will take the average salary above the government’s new national living wage of £7.20 for workers over 25, which is due to comr into effect in April 2016.
Mike Coupe, chief executive officer at Sainsbury’s, said: “We’re delighted to announce a 4% pay increase for the colleagues who work in our stores across the country.
“We know what a difference they make to our customers each and every day and we’re totally committed to rewarding them well for the great service they provide.
“I’ve talked to thousands of colleagues over the past year and they tell me how much they value their package of benefits and the flexibility that we can offer as an employer, as well as hourly pay which has always been well over the minimum wage.
“Their hard work, talent and dedication have been central to our success and will remain so in the future.”
This is a good announcement that comes in the wake of a fierce price war among the supermarkets. Many people believe that the Government’s new national living wage is likely to result in higher prices for customers. However, whether this move will actually result in retailers such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco passing the costs to their customers is debatable.
A widespread assumption within the retail sector is that companies have no choice but to offer low wages because if retailers, whose business models entail competing on low prices, make greater investments in employees their customers will have to pay higher prices.
However, research within the retail industry has found that this presumed trade-off between investing in employees and offering lower prices can be broken. Companies like Costco and Mercadona not only invest in their workforce by offering better employee benefits and training, but also offer among the lowest prices in their sectors, have better customer satisfaction and financial performance than their competitors.
Labour costs form a high proportion of a retailer’s expenses and are generally perceived as a cost-driver rather than a sales driver, so most retailers tend to focus on minimising labour costs by paying low wages, offering few benefits and little or no training.
Retailers who hold such beliefs will miss out on the opportunity to improve their own performance as well as contribute to creating the kind of jobs that the UK economy really needs. When supported by the right type of operating practices, retailers can not only compete effectively on prices but also keep customers and employees satisfied.