Last week, approximately 7,000 of Aviva’s lowest-paid employees were told they will be receiving as much as £1,000 ($1,208), said Amanda Blanc in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.
“Last week we announced a £1,000 payout to those that are earning under £30,000,” Blanc said. “That’s tapered up to £35,000.” Currently, the minimum salary in the UK is £19,760.
Blanc made the announcement after disclosing that operating profit for the first half of the year was £829 million. She claimed that the intent behind the payment was to alleviate the effects of soaring energy bills.
Alongside Aviva, several of the UK’s largest retail banks have pledged to pay staff more money after inflation hit a 40-year high. Barclays Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc’s UK arm, Lloyds Banking Group Plc, NatWest Group Plc, and Santander UK are amongst those that have announced extra payments/pay rises.
Banco Santander SA’s UK unit has said it will give 11,000 employees a 4% pay rise and Barclays Plc has promised £1,200 for 35,000 UK-based staff.
HSBC UK has offered approximately 17,000 lower-paid employees, almost half of the UK-based operation, a £1,500 boost in their August paychecks, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News.
Meanwhile, NatWest Group Plc is giving 22,000 staff an average pay rise of approximately £1,000 from September and Lloyds Banking Group Plc said it will pay staff an additional £1,000 this summer.
