Major bank to give thousands of workers £1,200 cost of living bonus

THOUSANDS of bank workers in the UK are set to receive a £1,200 pay rise to combat the cost of living crisis.

Barclays has announced a pay increase for 35,000 of its staff in customer-facing, branch and junior support roles.

The increase will come into effect from August 1 and brings forward part of the annual pay review that would normally have come into effect in March next year.

The major bank will continue to monitor the economic situation globally and consider its approach to staff’s pay in each country.

Barclays’ next annual pay review for all staff will take place in the near future, effective from March 2023.

Barclays is the latest company to offer its staff a pay rise to help them tackle rising costs.

Last month, Rolls Royce announced some 11,000 workers would receive a £2,000 bonus as well as a pay increase of 4%.

And Lloyd’s Bank offered a £1,000 bonus to over 60,000 of its employees as well.

That works out as some 99.5% of the bank’s employees who will receive the pay in their August wages.

In April, the managing director of Emerys Timber and Builders Merchants, James Hipkins, gave £750 to each of his 60 members of staff – amounting to £45,000 in total.

Meanwhile, at Sainsbury’s’ general meeting next Thursday, a motion is set to be brought forward calling for all staff and contracted workers to be paid the national living wage.

It comes as energy bills and food and fuel costs soar during the cost of living crisis.

Fuel costs have reached record levels in recent months while food prices also continue to rise.

The surge in prices is part due to the war in Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic.