Copenhagen-headquartered jewellery brand Pandora has announced that it is paying its UK retail employees the current living wage of £9.50 per hour as of yesterday (18 October).
The business, which has more than 160 owned and operated stores in the UK and Ireland and employs 1,200 people in its retail teams, has increased its hourly pay from £8.91 to £9.50, or £10.85 in London. This is in order to reward great performance and attract workers as the organisation continues to grow and UK employers struggle with labour shortages following the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.
According to Pandora, it will also increase its hourly rate of pay in its Irish stores, rising from €10.20 to €12.30. On top of the hourly base pay, the business also pays commission to its retail employees, with the rates set to stay unchanged.
Rasmus Brix, managing director of Pandora UK and Ireland, said: “Our frontline colleagues have shown outstanding dedication during the pandemic, and we want to thank them for their commitment. We expect Pandora to grow in the years to come, and we will need to hire more people. We want to attract the best talent to join us and believe we offer very competitive terms.”
This announcement comes as British employers continue to experience the worst staff shortages since the late 1990s, as a result of many stores reopening after lockdown and a sharp drop in overseas workers due to Covid and Brexit.
Pandora, which expects to reach at least 22 billion Danish kroner (£2.5 billion) in 2021, employs 26,000 people worldwide. It grew its UK revenue in 2020 as it conducted most of its sales online, and was praised for continuing to provide full pay to all employees even though most of its stores were closed.