Rolls-Royce will give more than 14,000 employees a £ 2,000 paycheck to help them cope with the rising cost of living, the first time the engineering firm has made such a move.
The one-time payment will go to store staff and junior management, who are based primarily at the company’s two largest locations in Derby and Bristol. They make up 70% of the workforce of some 20,000 Rolls-Royce workers in the UK.
A Rolls-Royce spokesman said the company was offering most of its UK staff a lump sum of £ 2,000 in cash “to help them overcome the current exceptional economic climate”. He said it was the first time the company had paid a lump sum in cash that is not linked to performance, but to the economic climate.
In the latest sign that the cost of living crisis is getting worse, data firm Kantar said on Tuesday that annual food bills will rise by £ 380 this year. Grocery price inflation rose to 8.3% in the four weeks to June 12th.
Energy bills have skyrocketed in the UK, gasoline and diesel prices have risen to record highs and the official inflation rate hit a 40-year high of 9% in April. The energy price cap could reach £ 3,000 in early October, according to a new forecast from research firm Cornwall Insight.
Some 3,000 Rolls-Royce employees, mostly junior executives, will receive the cash amount in August, while the other 11,000 workers, who are represented by Unite union, will receive it once it has been approved by the union. The company also offers the store’s 11,000 employees a 4% pay rise, dating back to March. The average salary between them is £ 40,000 a year.
The spokesman said: “In addition, we are offering our store staff the highest annual salary increase for at least a decade, dating back to March, and overall these measures represent a salary increase of around 9 % for them “.
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Deputy executives already had a pay rise in March, an average of 2.5% in line with the rest of the company’s executives, and earn more than store workers.
Workshop workers not represented by the union also received an average salary increase of 2.5% in March, but if the union accepts the 4% wage agreement, Rolls-Royce will also increase the salary of non-union staff. syndicated by 1.5%, so you get the same package.
Last week, it emerged that Lloyds Bank will give more than 64,000 employees a one-time payment of £ 1,000 to help with rising living costs. The payment, due in August, comes after a Unite campaign.