Sainsbury’s to increase store staff pay to at least £10 an hour
Sainsbury’s is increasing its basic hourly rate of pay for all Sainsbury’s and Argos staff from £9.50 to £10 an hour.
In addition, staff in inner London will receive an uplift from £10.10 to £11.05 whilst workers in outer London will see their pay rise from £9.75 to £10.50.
The supermarket is also increasing additional payment rates for drivers as it looks to recruit and retain the best talent. Online grocery drivers will now be paid £11.50 per hour, with a basic rate of £10 per hour plus an extra £1.50 per hour. Meanwhile, Argos Fast Track Delivery drivers will receive £11 per hour based on a base rate of £10 per hour plus an extra £1, up from 75p.
The new pay rates represent a £100 million investment by Sainsbury’s in its store staff and this year’s 5.3% increase means the supermarket’s hourly pay has grown by 25% over the past five years.
The pay increases will come into effect from Sunday 6 March 2022 with the first pay day being 8 April.
Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, said: “To kick off the New Year, I am pleased that one of the first things we are doing is investing in our colleagues and lifting our basic hourly rate of pay to £10. We are making this significant investment to show our colleagues how much we value the brilliant job they do for our customers every day. It also reflects the significant progress we are making against our plan and to save money we can invest in lower prices, offer fantastic colleague service and make shopping convenient for customers.”
As part of their reward package, all Sainsbury’s, Argos and Habitat staff receive 10% discount on their shopping at all three brands. At certain times during the year the colleague discount in Sainsbury’s increases to 15%, saving a typical store colleague about £300 per year. Sainsbury’s said this increase will now occur every pay day for five days.
Roberts added: “We have also listened to our colleagues and are enhancing our colleague discount scheme to help them plan their grocery spend and manage their shopping budgets better, which could save colleagues hundreds of pounds a year.”
