Big Four giant Sainsbury’s has become one of the first major supermarkets to sign up to a voluntary code that pays staff 11.05 an hour in London and 9.90 outside the capital.
That’s under the Real Living Wage, a rate set by The Living Wage Foundation, which uses inflation and the cost of living to calculate the minimum workers should earn each year.
It’s completely separate to the government’s minimum wage.
The move follows Marks & Spencer in February and a decision on Thursday by Tesco, the UK’s largest private employer, to increase its hourly rate by 5.8% to 10.10.
It also comes a day after Sainsbury's announced 300 job cuts in its head office operations.
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Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
Sainsbury’s will join the likes of Aviva and KPMG in opting to join the Real Living Wage, it said today.
The Living Wage Foundation, which sets the pay, said last November that it would increase the hourly rate as consumers grapple with a surge in rising costs - especially for fuel and household energy.
Tesco said on Thursday it would increase its hourly rate by 5.8% to 10.10.
Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s chief executive, said: “We know times are tough for everyone. That’s why we were one of the first in the industry to pay over the Real Living Wage at 10 per hour and brought forward the announcement of our annual pay review to early January, as we wanted to help colleagues plan and manage the cost of living in the year ahead.”
The Real Living Wage is higher than the statutory National...
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