Sainsbury’s is investing £20m into pay increases for staff

Sainsbury’s is investing £20m into pay increases for staff to “support them with rising household costs”.

A further £5m will be used to give staff “access to basic food items during shifts” through the start of the winter, the supermarket said.

For the first time, colleagues will receive an Autumn pay increase outside of the annual pay review, in an unprecedented step to support colleagues when they need it most.

Sainsbury’s and Argos hourly retail colleague pay will go from £10.00 to £10.25 and from £11.05 to £11.30 per hour in London, which means all these colleagues will have had at least two pay rises this year to reflect the current challenges households are facing.

It will bring investment into colleague pay this year to £150 million and demonstrates Sainsbury’s commitment to being a leading employer. It takes the pay increase for frontline, hourly paid colleagues to 7.9% this year and 28% over five years.*

The new support package will also give colleagues access to basic food items during shifts from the first week in October until the end of December and increased discounts at Sainsbury’s and Argos.

The free food will ensure that colleagues can have something to eat while they are at work and the longer and deeper discounts will help colleagues plan and manage their budgets through the Autumn and in the run up to Christmas.

The new pay rates will be effective from 16th October and it is expected that 127,000 hourly paid colleagues across retail, local fulfilment centres and customer service contact centres will benefit.

*A 28% increase in pay over the last five years represents the increase from £8.00 in September 2017 to £10.25 in October 2022.