Bank Virgin Money has awarded its 7,500 members of staff a pay rise of 10% on average, following a 43% increase in annual profits due to rising UK interest rates.
The business announced the pay increase internally this month, following 92% of trade union Unite’s members at Virgin Money voting in favour of the pay proposal for next year. Staff will receive the raise in two instalments in January and July, resulting in them being paid between 9% and 11% more.
According to the group, it made the decision to do this in order to help employees cope with rising inflation. The pay increase was implemented on top of a £1,000 cost-of-living payment awarded to the workforce back in August.
Syreeta Brown, chief people and communications officer at Virgin Money, said: “This is a really positive outcome. It means that eligible colleagues will have the first part of our pay offer applied from 1 January 2023, and this will be reflected in the salary received on 20 January 2023. Between the January increase and one later in July, most colleagues will see a total uplift of between 9% and 11% of their salary depending on their individual circumstances.”
David Duffy, chief executive officer at Virgin Money, added: “2022 has been a milestone year for Virgin Money. We have good momentum while delivering a strong performance and improved returns for our shareholders. We’ve changed the game in purpose-led flexible working to create an engaged, high-performing organisation that’s cost-efficient and agile, which will underpin targeted growth through further digital innovation.”
In its annual results, Virgin Money reported that its statutory pre-tax profits jumped to £595 million for the year to 30 September from £417 million last year, due in part to rising interest rates boosting profit margins, while annual profits fell 1% to £789 million.
