Thousands of Tesco workers to split £30m windfall

More than 20,000 Tesco workers are set to share a £30 million windfall from maturing share schemes.

The company revealed that the employees will receive the bumper payout following a “strong performance” from its Save as You Earn colleague share schemes.

It said it will be mainly workers on its store shopfloors and in its distribution centres who benefit from the cash boost.

Workers have benefited from the recent improvement in the FTSE 100 group’s share price, which currently sits above 303p after a 20% increase over the past year.

Employees who joined the schemes can buy shares at a discounted price, of 188p or 198p each, and either keep them for the longer term or sell on for a profit.

Those who invested the maximum £500 a month into the savings schemes stand to make a profit of almost £10,000 from the three-year scheme and almost £20,000 from the five-year scheme.

Tesco said there was an average employee investment of £68 a month in the scheme.

Emma Taylor, Tesco chief people officer, said: “It’s great news that more than 20,000 colleagues will benefit this year from our share schemes.

“This is just one of the many benefits available to our colleagues, and the strong performance of the schemes this year is a reflection of their hard work and the brilliant job that they do serving our customers every day.

“Colleagues tell us they like this way of saving every month – and when Tesco performs well, they share in a multi-million pound payout or can keep shares bought at a discounted rate.

“This year the schemes’ success is rewarding our colleagues with thousands of pounds in profit, helping to boost their savings for everything from holidays to house renovations.”