Nationwide will give its staff a £1,200 bonus to help with the cost of living crisis.
In recent weeks, shoppers have witnessed their grocery bills surge at the fastest rate since 2008 following spikes in the price of butter, milk and chicken, according to new data. Research firm Kantar has revealed grocery price inflation jumped to 11.6% for the four weeks to August 7, compared with 9.9% in the previous month.
It said this equates to a £533 annual increase in the average UK household's grocery bill. Energy bills are also expected to rise later this year.
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The bill for an average household will increase by around £1,600 to over £3,600, according to the most recent forecasts. To help, Nationwide says it will give 11,000 members of staff a bonus payment, reports the Mirror.
The bonus will not be given to anyone in the company who earns £35,000 or more. However, around 61% of its staff base are estimated to be entitled to the payment.
Those eligible will receive the payment in two equal halves with one £600 arriving in October and the other in December. Debbie Crosbie, chief executive officer at Nationwide, said: "The months ahead will be worrying for many people and we’re always considering new ways to help our members.
"But rising prices affect our colleagues too and that’s why we’re providing this additional support."
Nationwide are not the first to support their staff during the cost of living crisis. The move follows HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander and Virgin Money who have already announced cost of living payments for their workforce.
Some 35,000 Barclays staff members have received a £1,200 pay rise this month, while HSBC junior employees are set to receive a £1,500 bonus. Lloyds is offering £1,000 bonus to over 64,000 members of staff, which is 99.5% of the bank’s employees.
Meanwhile, at NatWest, those who earn less than £32,000 across the bank will receive an additional 4% salary increase. Reuters also reported that 11,000 Santander employees would receive a 4% pay rise.
Employees earning under £35,000 would be eligible for the pay rise covering 60% of their workforce. On top of this, the company revealed it will offer a £1,000 one-off bonus to 78% of its employees who earn £50,000 a year or less.
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