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International fashion retailer Primark is to increase hourly pay for its retail employees in Great Britain from 1 April.

It employs more than 80,000 employees across 17 countries in Europe and the US, with over 33,000 members of staff based in the UK across retail and head office.

From next month, the organisation will increase its average rates of hourly pay for around 28,000 retail assistants across England, Scotland and Wales to a minimum of £12.48 from £12 previously, and £13.06 per hour from £12.56 in London.

This means that over the last two years, an employee will have seen their hourly rate increase, on average, by 12%.

Kari Rodgers, UK retail director at Primark, said: “Our employees are key to supporting our customers and their local communities every day in an increasingly challenging retail environment. We hope this increase goes some way towards demonstrating how much we appreciate their hard work and dedication.”

In addition, Primark employees will also continue to benefit from a 15% year-round discount alongside benefits, such as wellbeing initiatives, an employee assistance programme, flexible shifts, a pension scheme, development opportunities, and enhanced family benefits for all retail and depot employees. These include improved maternity, paternity, adoption, and surrogacy payments.