In addition to the publication of a wage rise, Starbucks also noted that they would be willing to offer interest free tenancy loans for their workers in order to enable staff to afford housing departs.
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The average deposit for a United Kingdom rental properties reached £1,226 ($1,862) in 2014, according to Mydeposits, which provides deposit government-backed protection schemes.
The loans will be doled out four weeks after workers apply and will be paid back over the following 12 months through wage deductions.
It’s the latest company using the government’s controversial new policy to garner a whole lot of good publicity, in contrast to those that have publicly said the dramatic cost increase will seriously harm their business. Supervisors are getting £8.72 an hour, a 52p pay rise. “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’ new deposit program is a result of more than a year of staff consultations, where housing and education were identified as some of the biggest financial challenges facing employees.
Since then, a number of companies, including Lidl, have announced that they would be introducing a higher rate of pay for their staff. This commitment to the National Living Wage recommendations will increase its basic pay to £7.20 per hour in April 2016 for all employees, including apprentices and more than 4,500 members of staff who are under 25.
The minimum wage legislation will kick in everywhere next April, starting at £7.20, and rising to somewhere around £9.35 by 2020 for all workers aged 25 and over.
Starbucks’ move was welcomed by Shelter, the charity for homeless people, which devised the scheme for its own staff.
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‘After successfully launching the scheme with our own staff in 2013, it’s great to see that Starbucks are following suit and helping their staff to move home without worrying about how they’ll cover the cost’. The loan will be capped at a month’s wages and will be repaid over a 12-month period. “This will no doubt encourage other United Kingdom employers to follow their example and give renters the helping hand they need”.
