Starbucks staff set for pay rise after chain extends national living wage to all employees

Thousands of Starbucks staff are to receive a pay rise after the coffee chain agreed to extend the national living wage to all employees.

All staff, including apprentices, who are under 25 will receive the national living wage of £7.20 an hour from April next year. Starbucks said more than 50% of its staff were under the age of 25.

All baristas, regardless of age, will earn £7.20 an hour, up from £6.77, while supervisors will earn £8.72, up from £8.20. An undisclosed premium will also be paid to those working in London.

Starbucks said the switch would not result in price hikes for customers.

The national living wage was announced by Chancellor George Osborne in his summer budget and will see all workers aged 25 and over paid £7.20 an hour from next April, rising to £9 from 2020.

Starbucks also announced it will offer loans for tenancy deposits alongside the wage rise to help its employees "tackle the cost of living".

The company will lend workers a maximum of one month's wages to be repaid interest-free over 12 months to help pay the rental deposit when moving home, with each application considered on a case-by-case basis.

Kris Engskov, Starbucks' president of Europe, the Middle East and Asia, said: "We are really proud to be the first private company to implement Shelter's innovative Tenancy Deposit Loan Scheme.

"We know the cost of living is a key concern for many, with the average rental deposit in England now £1,226. And with over half of our partners being under 25 years old, that rent affordability especially is an issue that affects them.

"These initiatives are two of the ways we are able to support the great people that work with us."