Starbucks said the switch would not result in price hikes for customers.
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Starbucks will raise the pay of its United Kingdom employees next year, as the coffee retailer becomes one of the biggest businesses to support for the government’s plan to see wages rises.
Starbucks said more than 50 per cent of its staff were under the age of 25.
The Home Sweet Loan scheme, developed by Shelter as the Tenancy Deposit Loan Scheme, means that Starbucks will provide an interest-free loan to help employees moving into a new home to pay rental deposits.
The move will benefit more than 4,500 staff in company-owned stores.
Speaking on this point, Kris Engskov, Starbucks’ president of European, Middle-Eastern and Asian operations, had this to say: “We know the cost of living is a key concern for many, with the average rental deposit in England now £1,226 ($1,863). And with over half our partners under 25 years old, that rent affordability especially is an issue that affects them”.
The coffee conglomerate said that, from November, all baristas – including those under 25 not legally entitled to the living wage – will benefit from a pay boost from £6.77 an hour to £7.20, while supervisors will see their hourly wage increased to £8.72 from £8.20.
Earlier this year, Starbucks started to roll out full four-year college tuition for qualifying USA staff and Enskov told CNBC that the United Kingdom business could adopt a similar scheme as part of its apprenticeship expansion.
Starbucks is also getting on board with the new National Living Wage, introduced by George Osborne in the June budget.
Campbell Robb, Shelter chief executive, said: ‘There are now 11million private renters in England, and as housing costs keep rising, more and more people are struggling to scrape together the deposit needed to rent a home. Its Tenancy Deposit Loan Scheme was launched in 2013 with its own staff and the charity said it had been a “success”.
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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”.
