Primark has introduced a 12% pay rise for around 26,000 UK shop-floor employees from this month (April).
Retail assistants will now earn an hourly rate of £11 nationally and £11.51 in London, the high-street fashion chain has revealed.
The pay increase came into effect on 1 April, the same day the national living wage rate increased from £9.50 to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over.
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.”
The wage boost follows a 12% rise implemented by the retailer last year. In addition to the pay hike, the company is moving all its retail staff onto a single rate of pay, eliminating age-related wage rates for those aged under 23.
Aside from salary, Primark, which has more than 330 stores in 16 countries across Europe and America, offers staff a number of benefits such as online learning and staff training courses, wellbeing support, employee discounts, a leadership programme, a workplace pension scheme and a flexible approach to shift work.
The latest investment in staff salaries follows the chain’s announcement of plans to inject £140 million into its UK stores in the next two years. It plans to open at least four new outlets, creating 850-plus new positions, as well as relocating, extending and refurbishing some existing stores.
Primark’s decision follows a host of other retailers that have announced pay rises this year, including Aldi, Amazon, Currys and Lidl.
