Starbucks is to pay all of its employees the government’s national living wage, including those under the age of 25. It is also introducing a rental deposit loan scheme to help staff tackle the cost of living.
From April 2016, Starbucks will increase its basic pay to £7.20 an hour for all staff, including apprentices. Barista pay will increase from £6.77 to £7.20, and supervisor pay will increase from £8.20 to £8.72 an hour.
The move is in line with the government’s new national living wage, as announced in the Summer Budget. However, Starbucks has opted to pay all of its employees the same rate, as opposed to just those over the age of 25, the age at which the government’s national living wage rate becomes compulsory.
With more than 50% of Starbucks staff under the age of 25, the pay measure is expected to impact 4,500 employees in Starbucks-owned stores.
While the government’s new wage is set at the same rate throughout the UK, the coffee chain’s London-based workers will receive a higher hourly wage to address the higher cost of living in the capital.
The rental deposit scheme, Home Sweet Loan, which has been developed by Shelter as the Tenancy Deposit Loan Scheme, will consist of an interest-free loan to help Starbucks’ workers pay rental deposits when they are moving into a new home.
The programme is available to Starbucks workers based in Starbucks-owned stores who have been with the business for over a year. The coffee house chain will loan a maximum amount of one month’s wages, paid within four weeks of application, to be repaid over twelve months.
Kris Engskov, president of Starbucks EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), said: “We know the cost of living is a key concern for many, and with over half of our [workers] being under 25 years old, that rent affordability especially is an issue that affects them.
”These initiatives are two of the ways we are able to support the great people that work with us.”