The coffee chain is going to start lending its staff in the United Kingdom interest-free sums to help them put down a deposit to pay for a house, the Financial Times reports.
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The coffee giant, whose chief executive Howard Schultz is worth an estimated £2billion, will include under-25s in the new £7.20 an hour wage from next April.
The national living wage announced by Chancellor George Osborne in his summer budget will see all workers aged 25 and over paid £7.20 an hour from next April, rising to £9 from 2020.
Starbucks’s decision to roll-out the national living wage goes beyond the legislative recommendations, which only include over 25s and says nothing about a pay rise for those already earning above it.
Those working in London will also get a premium although the level of this is yet to be announced.
The move will benefit more than 4,500 staff in company-owned stores.
“We know the cost of living is a key concern for many, with the average rental deposit in England now is £1,226 [sic]”. The loan will be capped at a month’s wages and will be repaid over a 12-month period.
Starbucks’s announcement comes a week after German-owned discount supermarket Lidl said it would increase pay for thousands of its staff in Britain by at least 12 percent. “And with over half of our partners being under 25 years old, that rent affordability especially is an issue that affects them, ‘ Starbucks” EMEA president Kris Engskov said in a statement.
Starbucks, which now has a market capitalisation of $86.6bn (£56.9bn), has undertaken a number of social impact schemes through its U.S. outlets.
The move stands in contrast to rival coffee chain Costa which said it was forced to raise its prices in order to deal with the rising costs imposed by the National Living Wage.
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He added that Starbucks’ initiative would hopefully encourage other United Kingdom employers to follow suit and give renters “the helping hand they need”.
