16,000 UK workers to receive pay rise

Costa Coffee, owned by the Coca-Cola Company, has announced increasing salaries for more than 16,000 UK workers.

The move comes before the minimum wage increase, and Costa is the latest firm to increase pay.

The coffee chain plans to raise the base pay rate for workers across its 1,520 company-owned stores in the UK from £10 to £10.70 per hour starting April 1.

More experienced baristas will also receive a pay rise, with their base pay increasing from £10.53 to at least £11.23 per hour, depending on their location and role.

The salary increase will see pay go up by between 6.1% and 7.3%, excluding bonuses, and on average, it will increase by 6.7%. Last week, rival Pret A Manger also announced that it would increase the base salaries of its workers from £10.30 to £10.60 per hour starting next month.

These moves come ahead of a 9.7% increase in the national living wage to £10.42 per hour on April 1.

According to Costa, it increased salaries in April and October last year, resulting in a more than 14% increase in the base rate from £9.36 to £10.70 per hour. Currently, UK inflation stands at 10.1%, down only slightly from its peak of 11.1% in October 2022, following surging energy and food bills, with the cost of living has increased across the board over the past year.

Costa’s interim UK and Ireland managing director, Nick Orrin, said that despite the uncertain times, the company is committed to putting its teams and communities first.

The company will offer an extra 20p per hour on top of the new base rate to staff who complete an introductory training programme. More experienced baristas, called Barista Maestros, will increase their pay by 50p per hour.

According to Costa, three-quarters of its staff will be on at least £10.90 per hour from April. The company also offers additional benefits, such as a cash bonus linked to the performance of individual stores, free drinks during shifts, and a staff menu discount of between 25% and 50%.