Tesco Bank - who are owned by Britain’s biggest supermarket chain Tesco - is the latest major bank to offer a pay increase to their staff, to help with the cost of living.
Around 3,400 members of staff - more than 90% of employees - are eligible for an increase of £1,250, which was effective from January 8th 2023 and is in addition to the bank’s annual pay review which will follow in May.
The salary uplift followed talks between trade unions Usdaw and Unite with Tesco Bank and makes them the latest in a line of banks - including HSBC, Santander, Barclays, Virgin Money, Nationwide, Co-operative Bank, Metro Bank, Monzo and TSB - to have made cost of living payments to their staff.
Last November Lloyds Banking Group gave their staff a minimum pay rise of £2,000, which came after a one-off £1,000 bonus for around 64,000 of its staff in August.
Natwest provided a one-off payment of £1,000 for 39,000 employees last year and last month announced their 2023 annual pay offer - comprising of a minimum £2,000 per year increase for UK members of staff, effective from 1st April 2023.
In a statement, Daniel Adams, Usdaw National Officer, said:
“As the cost of living crisis has deepened, Usdaw has continued to engage with Tesco Bank on what can be done to support employees through this incredibly difficult time. As a result, and following challenging yet constructive negotiations before Christmas, we were pleased to be able to agree to a £1,250 uplift to salaries ahead of the normal pay review in May.
“Not only is this a welcome step but, given this is a permanent increase rather than one-off payment, it will also flow through into other elements of the reward package, including pensions and bonus.”
Gerry Mallon - Chief Executive of Tesco Bank - said:
“The rising cost of living is having an impact on households across the country, and we’ve been listening to colleagues about how this is affecting them.
“That’s why we’ve taken action and awarded a permanent increase to base pay for the majority of our colleagues.
“The salary increase aims to provide sustainable, long-term support to colleagues, including our contact centre colleagues who show great commitment to helping our customers in the current economic climate.”
