Employees at supermarket giant Sainsbury’s have twice as many reasons to feel happier this week after it was announced they would receive both a bonus and a pay rise.
As a thank you to staff, the company is awarding a 3% annual bonus, which will mean the average full-time employee will pocket an extra £530. The bonus is the third it has paid out since the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic began.
On top of this, employees working outside London will see their basic hourly wage rise from £9 per hour to £9.50 from this month, while those inside London will see their pay increase from £9.90 to £10.10 per hour.
Argos workers will receive the bonus and pay rises too, meaning their salaries would have risen by 24% over the last five years.
The bonus comes on top of a 10% pay boost given between March and April last year and a second one of 10% during four weeks in November.
All-told, this third award means the retailer has paid out more than £100 million extra to workers.
Commenting on the rises, Clodagh Moriarty, retail and digital director at Sainsbury’s, said: “In the last 12 months our frontline colleagues have shown outstanding commitment to our customers.
“In recognition of everything they have achieved, we are giving them a pay rise, plus an additional one-off payment.”
Some unions however, have expressed disappointment with the move. Shop workers union, Usdaw, which represents 40,000 Sainsbury’s and Argos workers, said the increase still fell short of the £10 an hour that Morrisons had already agreed to pay staff outside London from April.
Dave Gill, Usdaw’s national officer, said: “As key workers delivering an essential service, Sainsbury’s staff deserve much better than the additional 20p an hour on offer, particularly after only receiving a 1.3% increase last year,”
He added: “The deal offers a higher increase for Argos workers of around 6%, which is welcome, but they also deserve better.”
