Sainsbury's Raises Wages: A-Level Business in the News

Have a go at this teaching activity, which includes a downloadable worksheet and suggested answers.

What's the story?

Sainsbury's has announced it will increase minimum pay for its workers outside London to £12 per hour and £13.15 per hour for staff in London starting in March.

This pay increase means all Sainsbury's employees will now earn at least the voluntary Real Living Wage, which is higher than the mandatory National Living Wage. Around 120,000 Sainsbury's employees will benefit from the pay rise.

The pay increase comes a year after Sainsbury's last bumped up wages to £11 per hour in response to other supermarkets raising pay. Supermarkets need to keep increasing wages to at least match the government's National Living Wage, which is going up to £11.44 per hour in April 2024.

The National Living Wage will also apply to 21 and 22 year olds for the first time. Sainsbury's pay increase comes a month before the new National Living Wage takes effect, so workers will benefit earlier.

While employees welcome higher wages, some businesses see rising labour costs as hurting profit margins when other expenses remain high. Next's CEO commented that its prices for customers would be lower if not for rising wage bills, though the company still expects strong profits.

Sainsbury's raises wages to retain workers amid competition from rivals