Primark is to increase the pay of its retail assistants in Great Britain, giving around 26,000 retail colleagues an average pay rise of 12 per cent.
The retailer is increasing the rates of pay for all hourly-paid store colleagues across England, Scotland and Wales to £11 an hour and £11.51 in London. It means that, from 1 April, retail assistants will be paid on average 24 per cent more than in 2021 after the retailer boosted pay by 12 per cent a year ago.
Kari Rodgers, UK Retail Director at Primark, said: “Our people are vital to the success of Primark and the hard work and commitment of our teams helps to create the Primark our customers know and love. We want all of our colleagues to continue to be competitively rewarded for their work and this pay increase reflects our commitment to continue to invest in our people and our stores as we continue to grow.”
Alongside the rate increases, Primark will move all retail assistants onto one rate of pay, removing age-related pay rates for under 23s.
In addition to the changes to hourly rates, colleagues will also continue to benefit from a 15 per cent year-round colleague discount alongside a range of other benefits.
The investment in colleague pay follows the news last November of Primark’s plans to invest at least £140 million in the UK high street over the next two years. This includes the opening at least four new stores and an increase of selling space by more than 160,000 sq ft. The investment, which sees the creation of at least 850 new jobs, will also include refurbishments to existing stores, as well as relocations and extensions including Westfield Stratford, Bradford and High Wycombe.
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