Staff at Sainsbury’s stores outside of London will see their hourly pay increase from £12 to £12.45 in March, and then to £12.60 in August.
According to the retailer, this will take the annual salary for a full-time employee based outside of London from £22,882 to £24,026.
Meanwhile, the hourly wage for London staff will increase from £13.15 to £13.70 initially, before rising to £13.85.
The announcement means that as of August, Sainsbury’s will have raised hourly pay by 58p since 2018.
Currently, 118,000 people are employed by the retailer on an hourly basis across its more than 1,400 supermarkets and convenience stores.
The pay rise has been split so that Sainsbury’s can manage what it described as a “challenging cost environment”.
‘Best paying grocer from March’
According to chief executive Simon Roberts, the March pay rise will make Sainsbury’s the top paying UK grocer.
“Our people are fundamental to achieving our Next Level Sainsbury’s plan and we are pleased to announce that we will raise pay for our hourly-paid colleagues by five per cent in the year ahead,” said chief executive Simon Roberts.
“We believe in rewarding our colleagues well for delivering leading service and productivity and we will be the best paying UK grocer from March.”
Meanwhile, the news was greeted positively by Paddy Lillis, the general secretary of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw).
Lillis commented: “Usdaw has a longstanding and valued relationship with Sainsbury’s and we welcome the staff pay increase in line with new real living wage rates. Our members are key workers in the business and it is only right they are fairly rewarded with a living wage.”
Bally Auluk, Usdaw national officer, added: “The business has decided to make a pay award totalling 5%, despite lower inflation rates than last year and following on from previous significant pay increases. The cost of living continues to be a key concern for our members, so the business’ decision to respond in such a positive manner, by matching the Real Living Wage once more, is a welcome one for our members.”
‘Welcome news’
Kirk Brazier, growth director at FMCG price monitoring service ESA Retail, explained that the announcement follows a positive festive period for Sainsbury’s that saw the retailer report record food and drink volumes in the days ahead of Christmas.
Grocery sales increased by 3.7% year-on-year in the 6 weeks to 4 Jan, while grocery sales for the whole of Q3 were up 4.1%.
“Sainsbury’s decision to increase their hourly wages by 5% will come in two phases in 2025, but nevertheless is welcome news after a what was a good Christmas period for Sainsbury’s, even alongside rising living costs,” Brazier told Food Manufacture.
“If Sainsbury’s move proves successful in improving employee satisfaction whilst maintaining profitability, it could encourage other retailers to do the same, in order to stay competitive in both the job market and from the consumers perception.”
