Primark increases pay for 27,000 store staff

Primark is to increase pay for 27,000 workers in England, Scotland and Wales.

From 1 April, the average rates of hourly pay for retail assistants will rise to a minimum of £13 or £13.71 per hour in London.

Primark said the move means that over the last three years, on average, staff will have seen their hourly rate increase by over 15%.

Kari Rodgers, UK retail director at Primark, said: “As retail becomes a more demanding environment, our colleagues play an increasingly important role to support our customers and the local communities we’re part of up and down the country.

“By investing in increasing colleague pay, we hope this goes some way towards recognising their hard work, commitment and the value they bring every day.”

Primark employs  over 30,000 people in the UK across retail and its head office. Last week, the retailer’s owner, Associated British Foods, announced that Primark’s interim chief executive Eoin Tonge had been appointed to the role on a permanent basis.