Sainsbury's staff pay to exceed new living wage

Sainsbury’s is to give 137,000 members of its workforce their biggest pay rise in a decade.

The rate of pay for those on the shop floor will rise by four per cent from £7.08 to £7.36 an hour, which will be above George Osborne’s national living wage on £7.20 an hour. The supermarket’s measures will come into effect next week, while the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s will have to wait until April 2016 to be implemented.  

Mike Coupe, Sainsbury’s CEO, said: “I’ve talked to thousands of colleagues over the past year and they tell me how much they value their package of benefits and the flexibility that we can offer as an employer, as well as hourly pay that has always been well over the minimum wage.

“Their hard work, talent and dedication have been central to our success and will remain so in the future.”