At a time when workers are finding themselves under severe financial strain, some businesses are responding by handing out extra cash to help them through the cost-of-living crisis.
Inflation hit 10.1% in July but things could be looking more optimistic after the energy bill support announced by Liz Truss.
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, believed this will mean inflation does not peak at the above 13% levels that had previously been forecast.
The extra cash comes as the UK is facing other big pressures including mass strike action across a number of sectors including trains, buses and communication workers.
The so-called 'summer of discontent' has been fuelled by below-inflation pay offers leaving thousands of workers worse off in real terms as they battle to make ends meet, despite being in work.
Couple that with the staffing crisis where firms are struggling to recruit and retain staff, it is clear to see why businesses have the added incentive of looking after the staff that they have.
BusinessLive takes a look at some of the firms offering to help staff with soaring fuel and food bills.
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Amazon
The online giant announced in October a special payment of up to £500 for its frontline workers.
Tens of thousands of hourly paid employees, including full and part-time staff and seasonal workers, will benefit.
The money will be paid in two instalments – £250 in October and £250 in December.
Atradius
Almost all employees at the trade credit insurance firm are to receive a £1,600 payment in October to help support them through the cost of living crisis.
The firm, which employs 426 people across the UK and Ireland and has its headquarters in Cardiff, will give the payment to all employees on the payroll including graduates, interns, and those on temporary contracts. In April 2022, the majority of Atradius also employees received between a 4.75% and 7.25% pay increase.
All staff members with the exception of Executive Managers will receive the payment, equating to 99% of its workforce.
Atradius says its management board made the decision in order to support its employees through the ongoing crisis, as inflation continues to rise, and people face record-high prices on essentials like fuel and energy.
The cost of living payment will be in addition to performance-based and inflationary-linked pay increases which are offered annually.
Aviva
The insurance and investments giant announced a one-off payment to staff to help them with the rising cost of living.
The payments will range from £300 to £1,000 for employees earning up to £35,000. The company is also removing car park charges at offices including those in Birmingham and Sheffield.
Unite the Union called on the company to commit to a more substantial rise in salaries for all staff.
Barclays
More than 35,000 staff at banking giant Barclays are to receive a £1,200 pay raise to help with the cost-of-living crisis. The high street lender said the salary hike, which will take effect from August 1, is for customer-facing and junior employees.
It brings forward an annual pay review which would normally have taken effect in March next year. There will be the usual wider group annual pay review for all staff in the "near future", which will take effect in March 2023, the company said.
Unite welcomed the move, which it said came after the union held talks with Barclays management and called for it to take action to help staff facing soaring costs.
Cartwright & Butler
A long-standing East Yorkshire business has announced a new, monthly additional cost of living increase for each of its 50 employees - equating to £1,800 a year.
East Yorkshire luxury hamper and fine food specialist Cartwright & Butler , a fifth generation firm that started life as a Hull bakery, is giving staff a permanent boost “over and above the annual pay increase”.
Its 50 employees will see a monthly additional cost of living increase in wages - equating to £1,800 a year
The ‘cost of living’ pay rise is in response to the well-publicised pressures on home finances due to rising inflation and soaring energy bills.
Tony Arnett, managing director of the firm, now based in Gilberdyke, said: “Our employees are the best asset that Cartwright & Butler has. “Like everyone we have seen the increase in fuel and energy prices and recognise the pressure this places on our colleagues and wanted to do something to help.
“We hope this regular monthly payment can take some of the pressure off the families of absolutely everyone that works for us.”
Co-Operative Bank
Staff at the Co-operative Bank are to receive a £1,000 pay rise to support them amid the cost-of-living crisis in the latest move to help cash-strapped workers. The group said around 95% of its employees will be eligible for the pay rise, which will take effect in September, with only those on the highest salaries not set to benefit.
It comes after the bank already made a one-off cash payment to lower paid staff earlier this year to help them cope with soaring energy, food and fuel bills.
Details of the pay rise were unveiled in the lender’s half-year results showing pre-tax profits rebounded to £61.9 million from £21.4 million a year earlier, helped by higher interest rates boosting its profit margins. The group said the performance was better-than-expected and it upped its full-year guidance for the net interest margin – a key measure for retail lenders.
Double Eleven
The fast growing games design business has surprised its staff with a permanent £2,500 pay rise saying it felt the need to " step in" and support team members facing the rising cost of living.
Middlesbrough's Double Eleven, which has worked on high profile games such as Minecraft and Lego Harry Potter, said it has had an amazing response from its staff, and the move has instigated conversation about financial wellbeing. The raise has been applied as a flat rate so as not to disadvantage lower earners and is payable to all from entry level roles to heads of department.
The firm's commercial and finance director Kimberley Turner said the idea had been introduced to help Double Eleven staff be more resilient in "uncertain economic times"
Express Solicitors
The Manchester law firm is to hand hundreds of its staff a one-off payment equivalent to one week's basic pay.
The specialist personal injury and clinical negligence firm will issue the payments in November in addition to any pay review increases, performance bonuses or Christmas bonuses paid to its lawyers and support staff.
The move is set to apply to over 430 employees at the firm.
The firm said that staff earning £20,000 would receive a bonus payment of £337 after tax whereas those earning £50,000 would receive £722 net.
Grainger
Residential landlord Grainger plc said it is to give a £1,000 cost-of-living payment to its staff in its September trading update.
The news came in the announcement reporting revenue rises despite what it described as the “financial challenges facing many individuals”.
The company noted the cost-of-living pressures facing many, and said it was taking a “responsible approach to rental increases”, while also ensuring most of its properties had the highest levels of energy efficiency. It said occupancy levels were at a record level of 98.2%.
Hastings Direct
Hastings Direct – which has its national headquarters in Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, and hundreds of workers at its Leicester call centre – said staff earning up to £45,000 will benefit from an immediate minimum 5 per cent pay rise and a £500 bonus in October.
It said that added up to around £1,000 for everyone eligible between now and next March, and pay reviews would also be brought forward for those earning more than £45,000. Company directors and executive team members have not been included in the measures.
Hastings Direct said it was also providing extra support to colleagues including those on extended absence such as maternity or sick leave, and those who had only just joined the business.
Hays Travel
The North East holiday company is set to pay for a staff member's bills for six months as part of a new company initiative.
The Sunderland firm, the UK's largest independent travel agency with around 460 shops and a workforce of more than 5,000, last month launched the Big Hays Travel Thank You initiative, as a way to reward boost.
All employees across the business are entered into a prize draw once a month, with new prizes announced following each draw. Last month, Richard Farmer from the Wombwell branch, South Yorkshire, became the first winner, scooping a new Hyundai i10 SE Connect car, while this month’s winner is Rachel Lovstad who has won a cruise of her choice worth up to £5,000.
Dame Irene Hays, director of the business which has operated from its base in Sunderland for 41 years, said the initiative was proving to be a success. The September winner of the initiative will have all their bills and mortgage payments covered until March 2023, she confirmed.
Hinckley & Rugby Building Society
Staff have been given a one-off payment of almost £700 in their August wage packet to help them through the cost-of-living crisis.
Almost 150 staff, from across the mutual's head office and branch network in Leicestershire and Warwickshire, will get the money. The extra payment will not be given to executive committee members or board members.
HSBC
HSBC will give a one-off payment of £1,500 to its lowest paid workers to support them during the cost-of-living crisis, but bosses also warned of further cuts to the workforce.
The banking giant said the cash boost will go to junior staff including customer-facing employees in UK branches and contact centres.
The impact of rising inflation and the soaring cost of energy means some workers will need more support to avoid financial hardship in the coming months, HSBC said.
HSBC is among several banks to pledge cash support for staff after campaigns led by Unite. It will arrive in August pay packets.
John Lewis
The employee-owned group announced a £500 one-off payment to full-time workers, with a pro-rata amount for those working part-time, as it stepped up efforts to support staff.
It also said it is increasing by 4% the entry level pay for employees – known as “partners” within the group – which will cost it £10 million over the second half as part of a £45 million support package.
The news came as latest financial figures reported a £99 million half-year loss. It said it chose to “forgo” profit to help staff and customers through the cost-of-living crisis.
Lloyds Bank
Lloyd Bank is giving some staff a financial boost of £1,000. The majority of employees are to receive the money to help them to get through the cost of living crisis, the bank says.
The lender told workers they will receive the cash bonus in August, according to an internal memo seen by the PA news agency. It is understood the payment will not be made to senior management or executives and will cover 64,182 employees, or around 99.5% of the firm's staff.
"As the rising cost of living continues to impact our people and our customers, we've been assessing the evolving outlook for inflation and considering how we can support you even further," Lloyds said in the memo.
"With that in mind, I wanted to let you know we'll be making a one-off payment of £1,000 to all our people in grades A - G which you'll receive in your August pay. This support is designed to help you during these uncertain economic times and is in addition to the steps we've already taken to increase the support available both to you and our customers."
MoneySuperMarket
The price comparison website is giving a one-off £2,000 payment to half its workforce in September to help with the cost of living crisis.
The business, headquartered in Flintshire, will give the bonus to its employees that earn £55,000 and below to assist with rising costs.
Nationwide
Nationwide Building Society is issuing a one-off payment to staff to help with the cost-of-living crisis. The Swindon-headquartered organisation has confirmed it will pay £1,200 to 11,000 staff across the country.
The payment will be targeted at employees who earn £35,000 or less a year - a total of 61% of Nationwide’s 18,000-strong workforce - Nationwide said.
Earlier this year, Nationwide gave its staff a 4% pay rise and raised the base salaries of 4,000 of its lowest-paid workers in response to the rising cost of living.
N21 Group
North East marketing firm N21 Group has given its entire workforce a £1,500 payout to help them cope with the rising cost of living.
Newcastle-based marketing, media and PR company N21 Group, which operates the Silverbean, Ortus and North marketing agencies, has given all 110 workers the annual rise after seeing inflation hit its highest level in 30 years in March.
The firm said the issue of rising costs, which has seen the cost of living increase by 7% in the last year, was discussed by staff and fed back to bosses, who then worked out how they could help.
Later this year, all the staff will also jet on holiday together as a reward for hitting its three-year target set back in 2019.
The team in Australia are having a long weekend in Bali and the UK team are going to Prague in the middle of October.
Rolls Royce
Thousands of staff at Rolls-Royce will be paid an extra £2,000 to help with the cost of living crisis.
More than 14,000 workers at the aerospace giant’s UK sites in Derby and Filton, South Gloucestershire, will receive the payment, according to Sky News .
The money will be given to junior managers and shop floor workers, while some 11,000 employees at the firm’s UK manufacturing sites will also receive a 4% pay rise backdated to March.
Serco
Outsourcer Serco is to hand £9 million in one-off payments to about 45,000 non-management staff as the firm lifted its profit guidance and dividend.
The cash is in recognition of the pressure many people, particularly the lower paid, are under, said Group Chief Executive Rupert Soames.
Shares in the company, which runs security, transport and immigration contracts, moved higher on Thursday after it posted a better-than-expected performance over the past six months despite staffing pressures.
Sintons
The North East law firm has given its staff a £1,000 bonus - paid in the October payroll.
Christopher Welch, managing partner of Sintons, said: “We want our staff to know we appreciate them and want to help in any way we can."
The 55 Group
A £720 salary increase and subsidised breakfasts and lunches have been introduced by the Hull city centre business to help staff during the cost of living crisis.
The 55 Group is to put an extra £60 a month in the wages of all staff earning less than £50,000 for at least the next year, with reviews to follow.
Additional National Insurance and tax costs are also being written off.
The 55 Group chief executive, Gerard Toplass, said it was to help staff with energy, food and transport costs, while hot meals and refreshments will be made available for just £1.50 a day - a 500 per cent saving on daily food costs, he estimates.
TSB
Around 4,500 staff at TSB are to be given a £1,000 bonus after the high street lender became the latest firm to announce payouts to help employees weather the cost-of-living crisis.
The payment will be made to all staff at the bank earning £35,000 or less and will be made in two stages – one in October and the other next February.
Trade union Unite said it had successfully secured the payout on behalf of workers at the bank to help with the rocketing cost of energy and wider eye-watering rises in the cost of living.
Virgin Media 02
Telecoms giant Virgin Media O2 is to give payments totalling £1,400 for employees earning £35,000 basic pay and under to support them with the rise in the cost of living.
The company is also introducing what it described as “best-in-class” maternity, adoption and paternity policies, providing new parents with extended time away from work.
Employees earning £35,000 basic pay and under will receive a support allowance totalling £1,400, with a first payment of £400 in November followed by another £400 in January 2023.
This will be followed by six payments of £100 a month until July 2023.
Virgin Money
Virgin Money has told most of its staff that they will receive a £1,000 one-off bonus to help with the cost of living.
The banking group - which has offices in Newcastle, Glasgow and Leeds - said all of its employees who are paid £50,000 a year or less, which represents 78% of its workforce, will be eligible. Around 6,000 people will receive the windfall as part of their August pay packet.
In an internal memo, chief executive officer David Duffy said: “The increase in the cost of living is on everyone’s minds, whether in political circles, in the media, or in the local supermarket. It’s also been part of many conversations among the leadership team because we know that many colleagues are experiencing additional pressure on their finances."
West Brom Building Society
The building society is to give 430 staff a one-off payment of £1,200 to help with the cost of living.
The payment supports those earning £35,000 or less per year, with 70% of the West Brom’s workforce benefiting.
It will also be extended to contractors who work on site at the Society, primarily for maintenance and cleaning.
The cash is on top of the Society’s Financial Hardship Support Fund and a performance related pay award of 5% for all colleagues.
The payment will be made in four instalments of £300 between October 2022 and January 2023.
Wilkin Chapman
The Grimsby headquartered law firm is paying every one of its employees £1,000 extra to help overcome the “unprecedented” cost of living crisis.
The leading regional legal operator said the bonus - on top of pay reviews and performance incentives - is in recognition of the challenging external factors, particularly felt through fuel and energy costs.
With more than 350 staff to receive the cash, it represents an outlay of more than £350,000.
Chief executive Robin Simmonds said: “This payment reflects our concern for the challenges being faced by everyone in our business and although this will not mitigate the national economic climate, we hope it will go some way towards helping our Wilkin Chapman family in the months ahead.”
Yorkshire Building Society
The building society has announced it is giving colleagues financial support to help with the rising cost of living, with a one-off payment of £1,200 for the majority of employees.
All eligible colleagues, which does not include directors, will receive the payment in September, subject to usual deductions. The latest announcement comes in addition to a £1,000 salary increase for the same colleagues earlier in the year, and on top of an average 10.6% pay rise 740 of the Society’s colleagues received in January.
Staff who will not be eligible include Chief officers, directors and any colleagues working their notice following resignation will not be entitled to the payment.
The Society includes Chelsea Building Society and Norwich & Peterborough Building Society, and has assets of £52.7bn and almost three million customers.
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