Yahoo Finance Lloyds Bank pays staff £1,000 bonus to help with cost of living
Lloyds Bank (LLOY.L) will pay its employees a £1,000 bonus this summer as it looks to help staff as households grapple with rocketing inflation and surging energy bills.
Tens of thousands of workers will benefit from the one-off payment amid labour market shortages that has seen employers struggle to attract and retain staff.
Britain's largest domestic lender will make the one-off payment in August to 64,182 workers, covering all staff apart from senior executives, according to a memo seen by Sky News.
According to the outlet, the memo to staff read: "As the rising cost of living continues to impact our people and our customers we've been assessing the evolving outlook for inflation and considering how we can support you even further.
"With that in mind, I wanted to let you know we'll be making a one-off payment of £1,000 to all our people in grades A - G which you'll receive in your August pay.
"This support is designed to help you during these uncertain economic times and is in addition to the steps we've already taken to increase the support available both to you and our customers."
Read more: Lloyds and Halifax to close 28 more branches
The high street bank had previously come under pressure to help its lowest-paid workers cope with record high inflation.
In May, trade union Unite demonstrated outside its annual general meeting in Edinburgh following a vote among its members that rejected the company's pay offer.
Unite argued then that the lender had rewarded shareholders through dividend payments on the back of record profits but had ignored the needs of bank branch and call centre staff.
UK inflation is currently running at five times the Bank of England's 2% target after CPI hit a 40-year high of 9% in April.
"Staff will welcome the £1,000 bonus but there is still a long way to go to eradicate low pay in that is one of the economy's most profitable sectors," said Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite.
The extra pay, which will cost around £64m, comes after the group announced the closure of another 28 branches as customers increasingly move online.
The announcement last month means Lloyds will have closed 88 Lloyds and Halifax branches by the end of the year.
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