Coffee shop chain Pret A Manger has said it will hand staff a second pay rise this year to help with the increased cost of living.
Pret, which employs nearly 9,000 people in the UK, said all employees in shops and its support centre will receive a 5% increase from December.
The high street business will invest £10 million to deliver the pay hike.
It is the second round of pay increases by the hospitality business after it dished out £9.2 million of rises in April.
We hope this further investment... will go some way in helping our teams through the winter months and beyond— Guy Meakin
Pret said the move means 8,600 shop staff such as baristas will see a baseline pay increase of around 13% over the year.
It comes as Britons face major rises in the cost of living, with the Office for National Statistics reporting inflation of 9.9% in August.
Team members will see their pay increase from between £9.80 and £11.00 per hour to between £10.30 and £11.55 per hour depending on location as part of the latest hike, the company said.
Specialist barista pay will increase from between £10.30 and £11.90 per hour to between £10.85 and £12.50, depending on location and experience.
Guy Meakin, interim managing director at Pret A Manger UK & Ireland, said: “With the rising cost of living putting increased pressure on our people, we wanted to do more to support them, and to say thank you for continuing to go above and beyond for our customers.
“This will be the second year in a row we will have introduced a second pay rise in the same year for our employees, and we’re proud to be leading the industry on barista pay. We aspire to always be a top employer, with all our employees earning well above the national minimum wage irrespective of age.
“We hope this further investment, alongside staff discounts and free food and drink while working, will go some way in helping our teams through the winter months and beyond.”
