Sainsbury’s is pressing ahead with a plan to cut paid breaks, annual bonuses and premium pay for Sundays, leaving thousands of workers out of pocket despite pressure from unions and MPs.
However, the supermarket has pledged extra pay for online delivery drivers, those on night shifts, and those in outer London boroughs, adding £10m to its pay settlement.
Sainsbury’s said it was now investing £110m in a pay rise for 93% of its 130,000 shop workers, taking pay from £8 to £9.20 an hour, or £9.80 in London, giving an average pay rise of 9.3%.
But the removal of paid breaks, the annual bonus and Sunday and bank holiday pay means 7% of staff, or about 9,000 people, will suffer an average pay cut of £400 a year. Sainsbury said it would make up the difference in their earnings for 18 months and pledged to review its policy a in March 2020.
The supermarket has been accused by unions of “robbing Peter to pay Paul”and more than 100 MPs signed a letter to the prime minister this week calling for her to intervene.
The MPs, led by Labour’s Siobhain McDonagh, criticised the retailer for a “whole array of deplorable decisions that will hit hardest their most dedicated, loyal and long-term staff.”
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