Financial services business Virgin Money has awarded staff a one-off cost-of-living payment of £1,000, which they will receive on top of their salary on Friday 19 August.
A total of 78% of its permanent and fixed-term staff are eligible for the payment as they are paid £50,000 or less. Virgin Money confirmed that this is not a bonus brought forward, connected with annual pay reviews, or adjusted pro-rata for part-time workers, but that it will be subject to payroll deductions such as tax and national insurance.
Employees have been given the option to pay all or part of the payment into the their My Retirement pension plan.
According to the business, the payment was decided on after monitoring the increase in the cost-of-living closely.
David Duffy, chief executive officer at Virgin Money, said in an internal memo: “The increase in the cost of living is on everyone’s minds, whether in political circles, in the media, or in the local supermarket. It’s also been part of many conversations among the leadership team because we know that many colleagues are experiencing additional pressure on their finances.
“The one-off payment is in addition to a range of non-financial ways we’ve helped colleagues through this year, including advice and guidance on financial wellbeing and managing money.”
Syreeta Brown, chief people and communications officer, added: “The past few years have highlighted the importance of being flexible and supportive, as well as listening colleagues to identify their needs. We know that the increase in the cost of living has become a real concern for many, so, driven by our purpose of ‘making you happier about money’, we wanted to make a meaningful difference to those most affected.”
Caren Evans, national officer at trade union Unite, said: “Unite has secured the £1,000 payment following a campaign to show Virgin Money UK how the increases to the cost of living is hitting the overwhelming majority of its staff. The union will now continue to campaign to secure a consolidated pay increase for the whole workforce to ensure that all wages increase in line with inflation.”
This announcement follows an average uplift of 5% in Virgin Money’s employees’ base salary at the start of 2022, as well as the introduction of its flexible working policy and equal parental leave.