Sainsbury’s becomes first major supermarket to pay Real Living Wage and London Living Wage
Sainsbury’s has become the first major supermarket to pay the Real Living Wage and London Living Wage to all Sainsbury’s and Argos store colleagues, as it announces a further investment in pay to colleagues in outer London.
The reward comes as Sainsbury’s continues to recognise its colleagues for their extraordinary efforts and seeks to help people deal with the increasing cost of living.
The vast majority of store colleagues have received at least the Real or London Living wage since March. From 1st May, retail colleagues in outer London will see an increase in their base rate of pay from £10.50 per hour to £11.05, meaning they will join colleagues both in inner London and the rest of the UK in being paid the relevant Real Living Wage for their location.
Sainsbury’s said it is proud that its pay rates are higher than its main supermarket peers, with the move coming on top of the £100 million investment announced in January when Sainsbury’s became one of the first UK retailers to pay colleagues a basic hourly rate of £10 per hour.
Since 2017 Sainsbury’s has increased colleague pay by 25% and increased Argos colleague pay by 39%, as well as removing age-related pay.
Simon Roberts, CEO of Sainsbury’s, said: “Our strategy is about investing in what matters most for both customers and colleagues. 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.
“We are proud to pay the Real Living Wage and the London Living Wage in inner London and we have been spending a lot of time considering how we can help our customers and our colleagues as the cost of living crisis intensifies. We are always looking at what more we can do and have therefore decided to increase pay rates for outer London to £11.05 so that Sainsbury’s and Argos retail colleagues are paid the Real Living Wage and London Living Wage from May.
“We will continue to listen to the views of all our stakeholders as we balance delivering for customers, colleagues, communities and shareholders. We are committed to paying above the National Minimum Wage and, when setting pay each year, will consider the Real Living Wage, London Living Wage, the National Living Wage, competitor pay and the financial performance of the business.”
