Face The Difference

Face
the
Difference
The Impact of Low Pay in National Supermarket Chains
The Fair Pay Network is a national, broad identity coalition dedicated to leading the ght against the endemic levels of low-paid work and the increasing prevalence of in-work poverty that blight Britains social and economic landscape. We believe that fair pay levels are a right, not a privilege and that no one who works should live in poverty. To this end we work to shape a country in which both the incidence and social and economic costs to the public of low-paid work and working poverty are sharply reduced. www.fairpaynetwork.org
This report was produced by: Mark Donne, Tim Bickerstaffe, Ben Sellers, Andrew Birchall, John Stirling, David Bates, Joanne Treasure, Scarlett Redman, Zoe Courtney, Lisa Parrott and Marcus Daborn. Photography by Barney Bodoano
With the kind support of: Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust The Webb Trust Scurrah Wainwright Charity
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Face the Difference
Andy Clarke Chief Executive Officer of ASDA
We are very keen on trying to move towards a living wage, work should pay, thats the key
Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP Work and Pensions Secretary.
Face the Difference

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The rising cost of feeding a family, getting around and increasing unemployment add up to the biggest squeeze on families since the last recession
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Face the Difference
Contents
Page Introduction Executive Summary and Recommendations Report and Research Methodology Regional Research / London Research Sample Overview / London Sample of interviews / London Regional Research / Yorkshire and the Humber Research Sample Overview / Yorkshire and the Humber Sample of interviews / Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Research / Preston Research Sample Overview / Preston Sample of interviews / Preston Regional Research / North East Research Sample Overview / North East Sample of interviews / North East Tables of cost to employee of non-living wage payment 5 10 12 20 22 25 28 30 33 36 38 41 44 46 49 50
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Introduction
he four largest national supermarket chains in the United Kingdom Tesco, Sainsburys, ASDA and Morrisons now form a commercial and employment monolith spanning every town and city. Between them, the four chains employ an estimated 893,126 people at 7,293 stores. Collectively they are the largest employer block in the country and second across both private and public sectors only to the NHS. They are expanding at an extraordinary rate; there will be 20% more of their supermarkets in the UK by 2014, the shopping space area equivalent of 350 football pitches1. This expansion will obviously bring major employment opportunities, a positive development in times of economic gloom and growing unemployment. By way of illustration, despite 40% of retail employers planning to shed sta at the end of 20112, Sainsburys recruited 15,000 temporary workers over the Christmas 2011 season, 1000 more than in Christmas 20103; it has committed to creating 50,000 new jobs by 20204, and indeed, the smallest of the four chains, Morrisons, has already announced that it will create 7,000 new jobs in 20125, music to the ears of central government and a positive opportunity for job-seekers. So perhaps understandably, central government and the Prime Minister personally are placing great faith in the big four supermarket chains to pick up some of
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the unemployment bill being generated by signicant job losses in the public sector and rising unemployment in the private sector. At the rst and to date only jobs creation summit a private conference on employment generation personally chaired by the Prime Minister in Jan 2011 ASDA, Sainsburys, Tesco and Morrisons were 4 of only 23 employers in total present across every employment sector in the UK 6. The Prime Minster has publicly praised the four large supermarkets for creating such a vast amount of new jobs; in October 2011 for example, he lauded Sainsburys for helping to create jobs and growth while tackling social and environmental challenges.7 Despite a dicult economic climate, expansion on such an unprecedented scale is obviously also very good news for the supermarkets themselves. Available records for the most recent trading year show Sainsburys prots up 12.8% (pre-tax prots of 827 million)8, Tesco up 11.3% (pre-tax prots of 3.54 billion)9, ASDA were technically down 10.4% largely explained by an internal, one o payment to its parent company Wal-Mart but still recorded pre-tax prots of 803.5 million10, and Morrisons up 7.3% (pre-tax prots of 632 million)11. This colossal success is vividly reected in the annual pay and bonus packages received by those at the top of the four. Sainsburys CEO Justin King receives a remuneration package estimated at around
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3,243,00012; Tesco CEO Phillip Clarke receives a maximum package of 6,900,00013; Morrisons CEO Dalton Phillips can expect to receive a maximum package of 4,000,00014 (the corporate governance watchdog PIRC attacked Morrisons for excessive executive pay in 201115) provided the chain continues to perform very well; and whilst an estimation of remuneration for ASDA CEO Andy Clarke is not in the public domain, it is thought to be similarly spectacular. But as the evidence of this study proves, those employed at the bottom of the employment structures within the four supermarket giants are not having such a good time. This report demonstrates unequivocally that the despite the expansion, prots and executive bonuses, not one of the four largest supermarket chains pay the London Living Wage rate to its sta within the capital, and not one of the four pay the UK Living Wage rate outside of the capital. To be clear, neither the London Living Wage the hourly rate set by the Greater London Authority to ensure an employee achieves an adequate level of warmth and shelter, a healthy palatable diet and social integration and avoidance of chronic stress 16 nor the UK Living Wage set by the UK Living Wage Foundation17 and Centre for Social Policy Research at Loughborough University, or indeed the living wage rates set by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Minimum Income Standard to ensure an employee achieves a minimum acceptable standard of living are legally binding in the way that the National Minimum Wage rate is a statutory requirement. But Living Wage rates have now been accepted by local and central government of every political colour, the business community and social justice campaigners as the realistic base rates that any ethical business must pay if its employees are not to fall into in-work poverty. The previous Prime Minister Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP included a commitment to paying the Living Wage in every government department in the Labour Party manifesto of 2010; present leader of the opposition Rt Hon Ed Miliband has endorsed the Living Wage and has written to the CEOs of Sainsburys, ASDA, Tesco and Morrisons asking them to pay the rate18; Prime Minister David Cameron has described the Living Wage as an idea whose time has come19; Work and Pensions Secretary Rt Hon Ian Duncan Smith has stated We are very keen on trying to move
towards a living wage, work should pay, thats the key20 and both Conservative and Labour candidates for the London Mayoralty this year Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone have both operated and fully endorse the London Living Wage. The business community are also becoming equally emphatic. Major employers such as Barclays, KPMG, Price Waterhouse Coopers and many others pay the rate, as indeed do major retailers including Westeld and LUSH.21 The business rationale behind the decision is clear. According to an independent study of the business benets of implementation of the London Living Wage:
80% of employers believe that the Living Wage had enhanced the quality of the work of their sta, while absenteeism had fallen by approximately 25%. Two thirds of employers reported a signicant impact on recruitment and retention within their organisation. 70% of employers felt that the Living Wage had increased consumer awareness of their organisations commitment to be an ethical employer.22
And there are also signicant consumer related reasons for major employers to pay Living Wage rates. Not only does evidence suggest that employees receiving the rates provide far better service to customers, the British public overwhelmingly supports employers that act to tackle the chronic inequality of earnings between those at the top and bottom of large businesses.23 Put simply, it cannot be acceptable to employer, employees, government or public that the gigantic employer block formed by Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons, enjoying quite colossal prots and vast executive pay packages at the top, will not commit to paying all of its employees a wage rate the keeps them out of poverty. This report also demonstrates that both empirically and as far as employees own choices are concerned, incentives such as store discount cards and performance related bonuses are nowhere near enough and cannot compete with a fair, ethical pay rate secure within an employees contract.
The following evidence also dispels the myth that has been claimed in the past, once and for all, that any of the big four chains are Living Wage employers, inside or outside London. Also, in a new, extraordinary government brokered/NMW exempting development, young people in receipt of benets are being forced to work for selected employers including both Sainsburys and Tesco for up to 30 hours per week, for no pay and with no guarantee of a job at the end of the 2 month scheme. Those who refuse to undertake work on the scheme can be refused or face reduced benets.24 This is manifestly unacceptable to any ethical employer or government. Whilst it is perfectly understandable that the government of the day would seek to encourage job generation on the scale oered by the big four, in an economic sense it must also take into account the cost to the treasury of subsidising low wages paid by all four. It should also consider the cost to local economies of low paid people having far less disposable income to plough back into local businesses. Government must also consider the social cost of parents spending less time with their children, the cost to the NHS of adults
and children with poor diets, and a raft of other social costs directly associated with in-work poverty. Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons all produce annual Corporate Social Responsibility reports which detail the superb work and nancial donations they invest in numerous community projects and local charities. This is to be commended and encouraged. But these laudable initiatives pale signicantly if, as a matter of company policy, the four businesses pay wages which hold their lowest paid employees in working poverty, as the entire community suers as a consequence. But more than anything, this report provides Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons with an opportunity. 29% of all low paid employees in the UK work in retail25 a gure that simply has change. The big four can join other major, national mainstream employers in paying Living Wages, an opportunity to send a signal across the retail sector as a whole that they are the leaders in both a business and community sense, and an opportunity to make a serious contribution to the social fabric of almost every community across Britain. Consumer, employee and shareholder would thank them greatly for it.
NOTES 1 http://www.channel4.com/news/supermarkets-set-to-expand-20-percent-by-2014 2 http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/nov/28/retailers-job-losses-falling-sales 3 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/feedarticle/9828604 4 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/sainsburys-to-create-50000-jobs-2369407.html. 5 http://www.hungtonpost.co.uk/2011/12/14/morrisons-supermarkets-to_n_1148065.html?1323872586&ncid= edlinkusaolp00000008 6 http://www.cabinetoce.gov.uk/sites/default/les/resources/data-pm-t the jan-marc-2011_0.pdf 7 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/sainsburys-to-create-50000-jobs-2369407.html. 8 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13356966 9 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13125987 10 http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/oct/06/asda-prot-drop-tesco-grocers 11 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrisons 12 http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/blog/2011/nov/25/sainburys-boss-pay-incentives 13 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/nance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8548730/Tesco-radically-overhauls-top-executive-pay.html 14 http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/apr/08/morrisons-executive-pay-marc-bolland 15 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/pirc-attacks-morrisons-over-executive-pay-policy-2291960.html 16 http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/les/living-wage-2011.pdf 17 http://www.crsp.ac.uk/MIS/downloads/livingwage/The-Living-Wage-in-the-United-Kingdom-May-2011.pdf 18 http://livingwage.edmiliband.org/2010/08/05/lettertobusiness/ 19 http://www.citizensuk.org/2011/05/citizens-uk-celebrates-10-years-of-the-living-wage-campaign/ 20 http://www.livingwage.org.uk/employers 21 http://justice-for-cleaners.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84:living-wage-employers-inlondon&catid=36:news&Itemid=18 22 http://www.livingwage.org.uk/about-living-wage 23 http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/05/pay-gap-is-too-wide-say-two-thirds-of-britons 24 http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/nov/16/young-jobseekers-work-pay-unemployment 25 http://www.poverty.org.uk/52/index.shtml
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Executive Summary & Recommendations

i) Overview Between June and December 2011, 100 engagement interviews and repeat interviews were conducted by Fair Pay Network research teams, with 100 employees of Tesco, Sansinburys, ASDA and Morrisons identied from 34 stores in four UK regions: London, Preston, Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East. All interviews and dialogue took place in a neutral venue agreed by researchers and employees, and were never conducted during contracted work time or within the store the employee worked in. The gender ratio of employees was 46% male 54% female. The average contracted hours per employee was 27.7 per week. The roles carried out by participants in the study were: Shop Floor Sales Assistant, Produce Stacker, Trolley Person, Code-Checker, SDA (Shelf Display Artist), Deputy Manager, Driver, Department manager, Checkout Captain, Order-Picker, Cold Fridge Stock Rotators, Administrative Assistant, Warehouse person, Store Supervisor, Store Cleaner, Forklift driver/operator. The length of employment service range was as follows: Shortest: 8 days Longest: 29 years. Average: 5.02 years ii) Rate of Pay 86% of interviewees were not receiving either the London Living Wage, or outside of the capital, the UK Living Wage. 56% stated that they feel they do not earn enough to live on. 54% reported a slight pay increase in last 12 months 46% did not. The average hourly pay rate was 6.83, the lowest hourly pay rate recorded was 6.14 (Shop oor sales), and the highest hourly pay rate recorded was 13.50 (Store manager with 27 years service). The four largest supermarket chains all operate pay packages involving a basic rate of pay, a store discount card (sometimes issued immediately, most commonly within 6 months of employment), and a performance related annual bonus, subject to varying factors. Only 19% of employees selected this status quo as the most preferred package, when oered two other theoretical package options. 44% expressed a preference for a higher hourly rate of pay than presently received (with annual increase) but no annual bonus scheme; 37% expressed a preference for a higher rate of pay than presently received (with annual increase), but no store discount card. 21% of employees stated that their rate of pay is lower that I would like and causes me problems like doing without certain foods/clothes/leisure activities/activities for my children. 22% stated that their rate of pay is so low it means I do without a lot of things and I struggle to make ends meet, and 8.5% of employees stated that their rate of pay is so low it means I am getting into debt, having to work more and seeing less of family and friends.
iii) Employment Package & Contract A lack of contracted hours at an ethical pay rate, the varying and unpredictable nature and impacting factors on performance related pay, the relatively low usage of store discount cards and the worrying absence of training and guidance to secure skills and a higher rate of pay all depress employment quality and standard of living. 56% of respondents do not have full time contracted hours and rely on overtime, a second job or state benets to survive. 18% of respondents have a second job due to low wage from their main supermarket job. 53% of employees reported that they did not receive a performance related bonus for the most recent trading year. 77% of employees felt their employer had not taken any action to assist them in getting promotion to a dierent or better paid role. Only 18% of employees were covered by an employer pension scheme: 44% of employees felt they had not been oered training by their employer to gain greater skills. Only 18% of employees hold membership of a trade union. 58% had received a discount store card. Of those who had, 31% use rarely as they found the store too expensive and so use cheaper stores; 30% of respondents also reported shopping at discount food stores or street markets as more economical than using a discount store card in their store of employment. 51% of employees take regular over-time hours, outside of the hours they are contracted to work. Of those that do, 42% stated the reason for taking overtime was that they do not earn enough with basic pay and contracted hours.10 respondents reported problems with receiving overtime pay on more than one occasion. iv) Present financial difficulties In direct contrast to remuneration at the top, supermarket employees on low pay are suering badly during the economic recession and personal debts are rising as a means to nancial survival. 64% of respondents hold personal debts (excluding mortgage payments) of between 500 20,000. The most common personal debt bracket is between 500 4,000 (43% of respondents). 63% of employees have actually increased personal borrowing in the past 12 months; 31% from credit cards/loans/overdraft/store cards or catalogues, 32% from family or friends. Quality of life is depleting and families are suering materially and in terms of time to socialise or relax. In the last 12 months: 22% of employees have reduced spending on items for children e.g. clothes, toys, footwear 52% have reduced spending on food shopping 70% have reduced spending on personal items e.g. clothes, books, music, cosmetics 69% have reduced spending on going out e.g. restaurants/pubs/cinema/sport events 66% have reduced the amount spent on socialising with family/friends.
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Recommendations 1 That Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons engage with large scale Living Wage employers such as KPMG who may be in a position to oer guidance or even bespoke structural models to instruct how becoming a Living Wage employer can be cost neutral over the longer term. 2 At the earliest feasible opportunity, as a matter of company policy, Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons become Living Wage employers paying the London Living Wage rate at all London stores and the UK Living Wage rate outside of London from day one of a new employment contract, as the starting, base hourly pay rate to all directly employed members of sta. 3 Those at the earliest feasible opportunity Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons give a public commitment to only maintain supplier contracts with external suppliers that pay either the UK or London Living Wage, as is relevant. 4 That with immediate eect, Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons review their training and skills development programmes for those employed on the lowest pay grades, to ensure that those employees are not abandoned in stagnation roles on long term low paid salaries.
5 As a matter of company policy, Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons increase, where desired, the amount of hours contracted to employees. 6 As a matter of company policy, Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons extend company pension provision as widely as is feasible.
In lieu of these developments: 1 The Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions call upon and encourage Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons to become living wage employers. 2 The Mayor of London to call upon and encourage Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons to pay the London Living Wage in all London stores. 3 That shareholders of Tesco, Sainsburys and Morrisons join the Fair Pensions campaign26 to ensure the store chains as members of the FTSE 100 pay the London Living Wage. 4 That as a matter of urgency, the trade unions operating within Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons USDAW, Unite the Union and GMB launch major national recruitment initiatives to secure greater protection for employees. Coverage is low and must be increased.
5 That Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons introduce a pay element into their CSR reports with immediate eect. 6 That the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills urgently consider an analytical study of the estimated gain to the national economy, particularly local businesses of Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons becoming Living Wage employers. 7 That local and regional Councils, Chambers of Commerce and small business associations consider urgent studies of how much could be gained by local economies as a direct consequence of major supermarkets paying the UK or London Living Wage as is relevant. 8 That Tesco continue to meaningfully engage with the Citizens UK campaign to achieve the London Living Wage for Tesco store cleaners working in London branches.27
9 That Sainsburys meet with Unite the Union at the earliest possible convenience to discuss their active campaign for a Living Wage for all Sainsburys employees.28
NOTES 26 http://www.fairpensions.org.uk/category/categories/living-wage 27 http://www.citizensuk.org/2011/04/press-release-living-wage-campaign-meet-tesco-ceo-philip-clarke/ 28 http://www.unitetheunion.org/campaigns/sainsbury_s_-_pay_a_living_wag.aspx
Report and Research Methodology

An explanatory note on report presentation: Throughout the research and interviewing process, the condentiality, if requested anonymity and job security of the respondent employees was absolutely paramount to all researchers and mentors. Almost all employees participated under a heightened level of fear of dismissal or disciplinary action, and wherever supermarket management did become aware of the research being undertaken, all branch employees were prohibited in no uncertain terms from participation. To this end, the presentation and publication of this report continues our duty of care to those whom we met with and provided information and interviews to us for the purposes of this study. As a consequence, a majority of our ndings are presented as aggregations or percentages, much material has been omitted completely in case of leading to employee identication, and all quoted interview samples are given under the identity of a letter, rather than the employees name. In addition, no data is directly sourced to a particular supermarket or branch. Much information that we did receive, which we feel would have strongly demonstrated the case for ethical wages in the largest four supermarket chains has been removed. Detail of personal sacrices, very particular hardships or specic detail on salary discussions or reviews has all been either edited or completely removed for fear of employer identication. 4 research teams, comprised of 2 researchers and 1 mentor were recruited for each of the selected regions.
Outreach and procurement plans initially involved working through trade unions active within the 4 large supermarket chains. In practice this proved impossible, so all procurement and engagement was achieved exclusively of any trade union. Researchers operated in 2 principle ways: 1. Direct, brief face to face contact with supermarket employees whilst at work and the dissemination of a letter of introduction to the researcher and the project, with a telephone number provided for employee interest. 2. Procurement via community opportunities such as community centres and friends of participating employees also employed within the 4 large supermarket chains. An interview questionnaire was worked through and completed either a) At a neutral location in the researchers presence with guidance oered as to the ow and detail of the questionnaire, or b) In the respondents own time, privately at home or in some other agreed third party location. The decision on whether option a) or b) was taken was entirely the respondents. Sustained engagement interviews were then suggested and promoted. These aimed to map the eect of conditions (ie: food ination) and rising domestic overheads with low pay as a factor itself. These were held at third party private locations which the FPN and its research teams assisted with. The two approaches were maintained for a 6 month period.
Participating employees were remunerated for engagements. Every participating employee was asked to sign (and signed) a disclaimer certifying the following stipulations and conditions had been clear and adhered: 1. Conrmation that the information provided was a true, accurate and based on the employees own personal experience of being employed within a supermarket. 2. That participation in the research was entirely voluntary and a matter of his/her own free choice. 3. Conrmation that no external source, individual or anyone connected to or independent of the Fair Pay network inuenced or in any way attempted to inuence his/her responses in anyway, and that during the interview process, no duress or encouragement of any form was applied by the interviewer or another person(s). 4. Acknowledgement and agreement that the remuneration received by the employee was for time spent away from private life/ professional life to complete interviews as part of this project. 5. Acknowledgement and agreement that the interview or information provision process was objective, and there would be no relationship whatever between the responses given and the remuneration; that the employee would be remunerated for his/her time, regardless of the detail and content of responses.
Outline of regional approach and arising, process based issues: 1. London Initial procurement was slow in the South London area but steadier in the East London area. Once established the process was relatively uid, although conducted with extreme sensitivity to those participating, as a very live and palpable fear of employer repercussion persisted. One employee reported that the emphasis on two stores in East London had been noticed, and a warning issued to any employees that if approached, they were to contact a supervisor or store manager immediately. The study was completed on time.
2. Yorkshire and the Humber No contacts or gatekeepers existed within any of the supermarket branches selected as potential places to recruit respondents, so eldwork began with a cold-calling phase. Initially, 8 Sainsburys branches of various sizes and locations within greater Leeds were identied. One branch, a large superstore, was set within a council-owned car park, and it was decided that the researchers would park their car there whilst trying to recruit supermarket workers. The researchers identied an outside smoking zone for sta and made contact with several workers over about an hour. Responding to the encouragement of several workers to return when other interested sta would be taking a smoke break, the researchers returned several days later. On this occasion, a worker warned the researchers
that branch managers had seen them from a CCTV camera used to monitor sta taking their break. The researchers decided to return to their car but when sat inside were approached by a branch manager who threatened to have them arrested for trespass if they did not leave immediately. The researchers conrmed they were leaving but pointed out that they were parked on Council land. The manager became increasingly aggressive and said that a description of them would be circulated to all Sainsburys branches in the area with a recommendation that the police be called if they were seem attempting to talk to sta. Following this incident, the team were contacted by another branch employee agreeing to take part in the research. The worker conrmed that branch management had warned all sta not to speak to the FPN researchers. Partly as a result of this incident, the research team decided to attempt a snowballing of respondents from any positive contact or recruitment. This proved to be the most successful recruitment strategy; however it was also the one that took the most time. The researchers had several employees contact them by phone, following the handing out of the letter of introduction, who expressed interest in the research but were too concerned about the possibility of their branch managers discovering they had taken part to agree to be surveyed/interviewed. One respondent (a Tesco worker), who showed initial enthusiasm to take part in the research, decided to end her face-to-face interview with the researchers after about 15 minutes. In the time between agreeing to be interviewed and the actual day the researchers met her, she had become increasingly anxious that their participation in the research would be discovered by her branch. Tesco workers must sign a binding agreement not to discuss any internal Tesco matters for any reason.
Diculty also arose when sta at the original identied workplace (A Tesco supplier chain Huntapac) became very concerned that if managed discovered detail about the project, repercussions could be severe. Only 2 employees were willing to participate and the research team had to assure strict condentiality before interviews could take place. Once initial contacts were commenced, interviews varied greatly in length from between 25 minutes to 1.5 hours depending on extra information presented by employees. 4 employees quickly agreed to repeat interviews, held in a neutral venue and last on average between 1 and 2 hours. Broad procurement then commenced around supermarket stores, which was completed without incident or impediment.
4. North East Geographically, the research team decided to focus on Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Sunderland and Teesside, reecting a range of dierent local economies and labour markets. The team determined (i) not jeopardise anyones employment in the course of our work, by potentially causing them disciplinary problems (ii) to use established routes wherever possible, especially via the trade unions, to gain access to interviewees and (iii) to develop informal routes at the same time. The rst strategy was to contact all leads in the trade unions, local community groups, migrant worker forums and other links. The team had an initial response from the trade union representatives they contacted which seemed very positive. However, most said that in order to follow protocol, they would need authorisation from regional ocials. At this point, the trail went cold, as authorisation went from one ocial to another without any rm decision being made. Although the team persevered with contacts within the trade unions, partly because of that initially positive response from local representatives, they discovered that this was a familiar pattern when contact was established. After the same experience with a number of unions, they decided to concentrate on informal contacts. This did bear some fruit in that one of the researchers developed a link with Wallsend
3. Preston In the interests of preserving the anonymity and job safety of employees likely to engage with the project, all initial contact was attempted via regional trade unions. This proved very time consuming and problematic and thus from commencemrent, several weeks passed before any meaningful contact was made.
Peoples Centre where supermarket workers were encouraged (through the centre manager and local union organisers) to come to talk to the interviewer. The centre even oered a room for the interviews. Similarly, local contacts at a refugee support service, led to some interest in the Teesside area. Ultimately, the team attempted face to face engagement, direct approaches to supermarket employees in the workplace, but with mixed results. They only did this where it was safe to do so (i.e. not in view of managers or security cameras). The main issue here seemed to be one of credibility and trust. None of the respondents were familiar with the Fair Pay Network and it was therefore dicult to convince them of the security of the process and the impact it might have. Although the remuneration helped, it wasnt by any means the deciding factor. In a relatively short space of time, it is dicult to gain the trust of the respondents, therefore the informal contacts that we had helped enormously. In the Wallsend case, the centre manager directly reassured potential participants that the researcher in question was legitimate and trustworthy because she had known him for some years. The team successfully covered Tesco, Asda and Morrisons in a range of locations across the North East, including Tynemouth and North Shields on the coast, Benton and Lemington in central Newcastle, Jarrow, Teesport and Stockton. In brief, they discovered a sharp distinction between those who were long-term employees, often part time and older and those who were employed on more casual terms. Happiness with supermarkets as exible employers was much stronger with the former and dissatisfaction with terms and conditions, over-time and supervision was much stronger with the latter. Across the board, however, reliance on personal debt was an issue, with the burden of debt becoming more dicult both in the year before the project began and during the follow up interviews. Overly aggressive supervision was also a theme that repeated again and again and this was felt to be part of a more autocratic style that supermarket management had developed over a number of years.
Regional Profiles
Region in focus London
Regional Research / London
Regional economy and labour market context There are 3.7 million people employed in London, a rate of 67.8% compared to the UK level of 70.4%. The London rate is 3 percentage points lower than the pre-recession peak of 70.9%.29 In London, current data suggest that of 4.2 million economically active people, 423,000 are unemployed, an unemployment rate of 9.9%. Greater London has an economic activity rate of 66.4%.30 In London, 12% of women and 9% of men receive low pay (less than 7 per hour).31 London remains a chronically unequal city. Despite its extraordinary wealth, one million people live in low-income working households in London and over half of working-age adults and children in poverty in London live in a household where someone is in paid work. This on-going increase in in-work poverty particularly aects families where at least one adult works part-time.32 According to the London Poverty Prole:33 Overall, there are around 610,000 children and 1.28 million adults living in low-income households in London. Whereas the total number of children in poverty has dropped over the last
ten years, the number of adults in poverty has actually risen. The number of children living in low-income working families (in-work poverty) in London has steadily risen since the late 1990s. There are 330,000 children living in in-work poverty, up by 90,000 or 40% since the late 1990s. Of this rise, some 20,000 was in the last three years. By contrast, the number of children living in low-income workless families has dropped by 150,000 over the same period to 280,000. As a result, the share of in-work poverty has increased from a third to more than half over the period. Trends for adults in low-income follow a similar pattern. The number of adults in low-income working families increased by 290,000 or almost three-quarters in the ten-year period (in absolute terms). In relative terms, taking account of the changing population, the proportion of working-age adults in low-income, working households has risen from 12% to 17%. It now stands at 680,000, having risen by over 100,000 in the last three years alone. In total, one million people in London are in in-work poverty. The retail sector has a signicant impact on Londons broader economy. An estimated 4 in every 10 spent by Londoners goes into the retail sector. Retail accounts for around 10% of Londons employment making it one of Londons employment largest sectors. 34
NOTES 29 http://lseo.org.uk/content/1312 30 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-226770 31 http://www.poverty.org.uk/53/index.shtml 32 http://www.londonspovertyprole.org.uk/indicators/topics/income-poverty/child-and-adult-poverty-and-work/ 33 http://www.londonspovertyprole.org.uk 34 http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/economic_unit/events/retail-in-london.jsp
Research sample overview / London
Gender: 55% male 45% female Average contracted hours 28.7 per week. Sites covered Tesco: Commercial Rd (2 x branches Express), Canary Wharf (Express), Old Kent Road, Spitalfields. ASDA: Isle of Dogs. Sainsburys: Walworth Road, Bethnal Green (Local), Whitechapel. Morrisons: Walworth Road. Employer pension % 20% Trade union membership % 15% Sample of roles Shop floor sales assistant, shelf stacker, trolley person. Length of service range Shortest: 3 months. Longest: 10 years. Average: 1.2 years
Key findings 100% of interviewees are not receiving the London Living Wage 50% of respondents do not have full time contracted hours and rely on overtime, a second job or state benets to survive. 60% of respondents said they do not earn enough to live on 0% of respondents said they were happy with both their pay and terms of contract. 65% of respondents cannot aord to do their personal shopping in their store of employment and shop at other discount outlets or markets. 35% of respondents has a second job due to low wage from main job. Attitudes to pay package When oered the choice of 3 theoretical pay package options, employees selected as below: a) The same rate of pay as I presently receive plus an annual bonus scheme, plus a store discount card (essentially the current status quo in all 4 major supermarkets after either 6 or 12 months service) 5% b) A higher rate of pay than I presently receive with annual increase, but no annual bonus scheme 25% c) A higher rate of pay than I presently receive with annual increase, but no discount card 70% When asked which of the following statements best reected their opinion on their current pay package, employees responded as follows: a) I think my rate of pay is fair and if I manage my nances carefully, I can live fairly well: 0%
b) My rate of pay is what I would expect but my personal nances do remain tight: 35% c) My rate of pay is lower that I would like and causes me problems like doing without certain foods/clothes/leisure activities/activities for my children: 30% d) My rate of pay is so low it means I do without a lot of things and I struggle to make ends meet: 25% e) My rate of pay is so low it means I am getting into debt, having to work more and seeing less of family and friends: 10% f ) My rate of pay is so low that it is causing me personal problems, both nancial and physical, including stress or bad health: 0% 21% reported a slight pay increase in last 12 months 79% did not. Average hourly pay rate: 6.69 Lowest hourly pay rate recorded: 6.30 (Day shelf stacker) Highest hourly pay rate recorded: 8.20 (Shop oor sales) Incentives Annual Performance bonus 55% of respondents did not receive a performance related bonus for the most recent trading year. Discount store-card 50% had received a discount store card Of those who have, 30% use rarely as store too expensive and so use cheaper stores; 15% of respondents report shopping at discount food stores or street markets (Watney Market, Ridley Road market and Whitechapel Rd market were all mentioned) as more economical than using discount store card in store of employment.
Training 70% felt they had not been oered training by their employer to gain greater skills 95% felt their employer had not taken action to assist them in getting promotion to a dierent or better paid role Overtime. 80% take regular over-time hours to gain extra income 1 respondent reported problems with receiving overtime pay on more than one occasion. Reasons for taking overtime a) Just for extra money: 35% b) Do not earn enough with basic pay and contracted hours: 55% c) Pressurised to do so by employer: 6% d) To help out colleagues/team: 4% Personal debt and financial difficulty 85% of respondents hold personal debts (excluding mortgage payments) of between 500 20,000. 15% do not have any personal debt outside of housing costs Most common personal debt bracket is between 500 4,000 (50% of respondents) 100% of respondents say their household expenditure has increased in the past 12 months.
continued >
Respondents were asked to record what personal measures they have undertaken, if any, to counter nancial diculties in the past 12 months:
% 50% 55% 35% 50% 50% 60% 15% 30% 40% 15% 25% 40% 55% 8% 35% 20% 1% Strategy adopted to counter financial difficulties in past 12 months Reduced spending on food shopping Reduced amount spent on going out e.g. restaurants/pubs/cinema/sport events Reduced expenditure on sports or physical activities e.g. swimming, exercise Reduced the amount spent on socialising with family/friends Reduced spending on personal items e.g. clothes, books, music, cosmetics Reduced spending on transport e.g. bus, car Reduced/cancelled phone/internet/TV/magazine subscription Reduced spending on healthcare e.g. dentist, prescriptions, opticians Reduced spending on items for children e.g. clothes, toys, footwear Reduced spending on childcare and/or school expenses Put off repairs/maintenance to your home Reduced the amount spent or cancelled a holiday Increased borrowing on credit cards/loans/overdraft/store card/catalogue Reduced borrowing on credit cards/loans/overdraft/store card/catalogue Increased borrowing from friends and family Moved house e.g. smaller home/house-share/live with friends/family Rented out a room in my home
Most respondents on low contracted hours report claiming tax credits and housing benet. Most respondents not paying into a pension scheme as unaordable on present rate of pay or unfamiliar with option available.
Sample of interviews / London
EMPLOYEE A
Age: 27 Gender: Female Pay rate: 7.00 per hour Contracted hours: 21 Role: Till Operator
A also records that gas and electricity bills cause her and her husband huge problems, and that the last 3 times they have received bills, she has had to call in sick to work so her husband can work 16 hour shifts in order to try and access money quicker. A says that she has had to take payday loans from a nance shop in Bethnal Green 4 times in the last 10 months in order to make ends meet. She has worked overtime where available to pay these o, but it is not always a possibility, owing to her sister not always being in a position to take care of her children. A is not a member of a trade union has not been approached to join one. She is unsure if she would or not. She has received basic training relating to her role but not been oered any other training opportunities. A says that if her husband has to work less hours (licensed mini-cab driver) owing to increased fuel costs and lack of business, she will have to leave her job, as they simply could not survive. She says that if she leaves her job of her own free will she will receive less or delayed benets, so the situation is very, very dicult. She says she desperately does not want to go on full benets but that her situation cannot go on for much longer as it is. A speaks very positively about her store colleagues and managers. She says one of the things she likes most about her role is her relationship with those around her. She says her supervisor is aware of the diculties faced by many of her colleagues and always tries to allocate over time where she can, and always noties them of special oers in the store.
mployee A has been employed at her store for approaching 14 months. She has not received a performance related bonus but she states that it is a possibility for the next working year, subject to her team performance.
A says she does have a store discount card but uses it only occasionally for bigger items as she nds it cheaper to do her main family food shop at a local ethnic market (Watney Market, London, E1). She says she is able to get better deals on fruit and vegetables and access credit from one stallholder. A and her husband (self-employed) have 2 children under 3. They receive housing benet for their 2 bedroom at. A says it is very dicult to survive on her wage and that her household budget has got much worse in the past 6 months. She says the biggest issue for her is bus fares as she must travel to and from work (involving 2 buses, so 4 in total), which even with an oyster card is expensive, then to and from her sisters house to collect her oldest daughter (2.5yrs), as she cannot aord independent childcare. She cannot aord the tube. She says that for every 7 hour shift that she works, the rst 2 hours of her after tax earnings go on travel, so she is eectively working 5 instead of 7 hours.
EMPLOYEE A REPEAT INTERVIEW (3 months later) A reports that her family budget has got slightly easier as her husband is doing more weekend work with a friend who operates a removal business. She says she sees her husband much less but that nancially things are slightly easier. A says her store has begun recruiting temporary employees for the Christmas period and that as a result overtime is less available. She says that she had asked her supervisor for additional hours and that it seemed a possibility as A is well regarded by her managers, but that owing to a change in her sisters circumstances (meaning she cannot look after As children as often), A could not follow up the possibility. A has again taken a payday loan to cover outgoings but thinks she can repay it quickly (within 1 month) as her husband is doing more work. She says life remains very dicult and that her husband now works 7 days per week. She says that once her children are old enough to access an amount of free childcare she will ask for more hours from her store, but maintains that even that would not make a great deal of dierence, as her family outgoings increase more and more. She says the only thing that has made a dierence to her budget and quality of life is her husband working 7 days per week.
EMPLOYEE B Age: 33 Gender: Female Pay rate: 7.30 per hour Contracted hours: 16 Role: Shelf stacker.
B says that her son has had to be removed from a planned school trip as she cannot aord it, and has been ridiculed at school for the quality of his clothes. She says that most weekday evenings, because of her 2 jobs and time constraints, she usually gives her son money 1 to buy dinner from a local fast food outlet. She says he can eat a hot meal, 3 friend chicken wings and fries, for 1 and so this is economically better for her as she has little money and no spare time. She says this is dierent at weekends as they eat together at the caf where she works and always cooks bigger meals on Saturday and Sunday evenings. B states that she has never been oered training to access a better role within her store. She says even if she were she would refuse as the pay increases are tiny and it is easier to work any additional hours informally with her second job as the pay is better. B records that her manager at the store is very helpful and sympathetic to the diculties she faces. She says her manager has turned a blind eye and not deducted pay as he is supposed to do if she has ever been late. B says that were it not for the reduced rent she receives via a housing association she simply could not survive. She says that even if she worked full time at her store she would still nd it impossible to get by. She says ideally she would leave the store altogether and work full time in her second job, but that the caf owner cannot aord to pay her full time. B says she often feels depressed with the way her life is, especially as her son has to go without many things. B states that she rarely buys clothes for herself, although there are 2 very good charity shops in the Dalston area where occasionally she can buy cheap dresses. B says all of her crockery and a lot of her furnishings have come from charity shops.
mployee B has worked at her store for 3 years, but with a short break when she travelled abroad to visit family. B has one child (aged 7) and lives in a 2 bedroomed ex-local authority at which she secured via a housing association. B also has a second job, waitressing in a caf owned by a family member. She says that this is very helpful as she can choose working hours around her sons school times, whereas she can less so with her store. B records that it is pointless to ask for more hours from her store as the hours would be xed and that if she has spare time, she would rather work at her caf job because with tips the hourly pay is better. B says she has never received a performance related bonus, but does have a store discount card, which she does use jointly with a food shop at a local market (Ridley Road, London, E8) as part of her main weekly food shop. She says she used to use the discount card more often, but that a manager has stopped sta using the discount card on foods with damaged packaging or approaching sell by date, which used to represent a really good saving, with food you could freeze. B says sta would alert one another to damaged packaging or food that had been placed in the reduced area. B says travel costs (bus), council tax and utility bills, combined with simply never earning enough means life is very hard.
Region in focus Yorkshire & the Humber
Regional Research / Yorkshire & the Humber
Regional economy and labour market context The Yorkshire and Humber region has the third highest rate of income poverty in the UK. Of those jobs currently available in Yorkshire and Humber, about half are in low paid, low-level occupations and the region still lags behind the UK average in terms of skills and earnings. The retail sector in Yorkshire and Humber employs almost 237,000 people, which accounts for nearly 10 per cent of the total retail workforce in England. For this project, the research area selected within the Yorkshire and Humber region was the Leeds City Region (LCR). LCR covers the ten districts of Barnsley, Bradford, Calderdale, Craven, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds, Selby, Wakeeld and York, and has over half the Yorkshire and Humbers GVA and employment. LCR is a highly self-contained labour market; 95% of its residents work within its boundaries with Leeds, Bradford and York being the only net importers of labour. This large labour market with almost 2 million people of working age has enjoyed certain areas of sustained economic growth but also pockets of concentrated worklessness. Of those in work in the LCR in 2007, a greater proportion were employed in wholesale and retail occupations than any other industry (17%). Recent research conducted by the LCR Employment and Skills Board revealed that in May 2011, of all the occupations sought by the city regions JSA claimants the highest number (14,910) applied for Sales and Retail Assistant positions.
Between 1998 to 2007, over 100,000 new jobs in total were created in the City Region, with 64 per cent of this growth occurring in Leeds and Wakeeld. Only very limited employment growth occurred in Bradford, Barnsley, Calderdale and Craven during this same period. Now, Leeds accounts for just under one-third of all jobs in the City Region followed by Bradford, Kirklees and Wakeeld. Figures available show that in 2008 approximately 36,900 people were employed in Leeds retail sector 9 per cent of the citys total workforce. In 2008, approximately 62% of these retail workers were women and 54% of retail jobs were part-time positions. During the next decade, sales occupations in Leeds are projected to show the largest increase of any occupational group. Recent research undertaken for the Leeds City Region secretariat has shown that over the next 5 years, the LCR area will generate substantial job growth in low paid, short-term and part-time jobs in the retail, service, leisure and catering sectors.
Research sample overview / Yorkshire & the Humber
Gender: 37% male 63% female Average contracted hours 34.9 per week. Sites covered Sainsburys: Leeds (Headrow & Colton), Sainsburys distribution (Haydock) Morrisons: Leeds. Employer pension % 18% Trade union membership % 19% Sample of roles Shop floor sales assistant, Code-Checker, SDA (Shelf Display Artist), Deputy Manager, Driver, Department manager, Checkout Captain, shelf stacker, trolley person. Length of service range Shortest: 12 weeks. Longest: 10 years. Average: 5.1 years
Key findings 72% of interviewees are not receiving the UK Living Wage35 54% of respondents do not have full time contracted hours and rely on overtime, a second job or state benets to survive. 54% of respondents said they do not earn enough to live on 0% of respondents said they were happy with both their pay and terms of contract. 45% of respondents cannot aord to do their personal shopping in their store of employment and shop at other cheaper or discount outlets or markets. 9% of respondents had a second job due to low wage from main job. Attitudes to pay package When oered the choice of 3 theoretical pay package options, employees selected as below: a) The same rate of pay as I presently receive plus an annual bonus scheme, plus a store discount card (essentially the present status quo in all 4 major supermarkets after either 6 or 12 months service) 18% b) A higher rate of pay than I presently receive with annual increase, but no annual bonus scheme 45% c) A higher rate of pay than I presently receive with annual increase, but no discount card 37%
NOTES 35 This is particularly notable as the Yorkshire &The Humber study recorded a sample with a far longer average employee service than any other region
When asked which of the following statements best reected their opinion on their current pay package, employees responded as follows: a) I think my rate of pay is fair and if I manage my nances carefully, I can live fairly well: 0% b) My rate of pay is what I would expect but my personal nances do remain tight: 45% c) My rate of pay is lower that I would like and causes me problems like doing without certain foods/clothes/leisure activities/activities for my children: 36% d) My rate of pay is so low it means I do without a lot of things and I struggle to make ends meet: 18% e) My rate of pay is so low it means I am getting into debt, having to work more and seeing less of family and friends: 0% f ) My rate of pay is so low that it is causing me personal problems, both nancial and physical, including stress or bad health: 0% 82% reported a slight pay increase in last 12 months 18% did not. Average hourly pay rate: 7.45 Lowest hourly pay rate recorded: 6.14 (Shop oor sales) Highest hourly pay rate recorded: 11.71 (Department Manager) Incentives Annual Performance bonus 27% of respondents did not receive a performance related bonus for the most recent trading year. Discount store-card 100% had received a discount store card Of those who have, 27% use rarely as
store too expensive and so use cheaper stores; 18% of respondents report shopping at discount food stores as more economical than using discount store card in their store of employment. Training 45% felt they had not been oered training by their employer to gain greater skills 81% felt their employer had not taken action to assist them in getting promotion to a dierent or better paid role Overtime 81% take regular over-time hours to gain extra income No respondents reported problems with receiving overtime pay on more than one occasion. Reasons for taking overtime a) Just for extra money: 45% b) Do not earn enough with basic pay and contracted hours: 19% c) Pressurised to do so by employer: 9% d) To help out colleagues/team: 27% Personal debt and financial difficulty 36% of respondents hold personal debt (excluding mortgage payments) of between 500 20,000. Most common personal debt bracket is between 10,000 19,999 (36% of respondents) 81% of respondents say their household expenditure has increased in the past 12 months. continued >
Most respondents on low contracted hours report claiming either tax credits and housing benets or both. Most respondents not paying into a pension scheme as unaordable on present rate of pay or unfamiliar with option available.
Sample of interviews / Yorkshire & the Humber
EMPLOYEE A Age: 26 Gender: Male Pay rate: 6.40 per hour Contracted hours: 39 Role: Sales Assistant
Recently, A noticed that a newspaper article had been pinned to the sta notice board about a rival supermarket awarding their sta a pay increase up to 8 per hour. The article was removed by a manager before the end of that day and A noticed that it had generated a lot of discussion among the sta. In the past 6 months, A has only received training in health and safety and in relation to new stock and store layout. A is very keen to access more training possibly for a management role but feels that this route may be blocked to him. Sta cannot individually apply for a management trainee role, they must be recommended by an existing manager. A lives with his parents and brother. His low wage creates problems for him and he worries that he will be unable to move out of his parents house and live independently. Therefore he remains living with his parents and is particularly aware how the upkeep of the family home is increasingly dependent upon the combined eorts of all members of the household. He is also aware that his low wage, combined with his student debt and the general rise is living costs, would now make moving out even harder. It can be a struggle just living at home sometimes, never mind moving out. I dont know how I would get by. A has a store discount card that awards him a 10% reduction on shopping at the branch. This discount rises to 15% twice per year. A also receives a prot share once per year but this IS added to his pay packet and so is subject to tax. I got 200 last year but I got it taxed o me all 200. Recently, A has noticed that in the run up to Christmas, his co-workers who have children have been talking about ndings things increasingly dicult. No overtime will be available to sta at the branch over the Christmas period because Morrisons employees bank hours whereby they are given a day o in the weeks before Christmas but then must make up these hours over the Christmas period.
is 26 and has been working in the Fresh Produce department as a Sales Assistant in a large Morrisons branch for 6 years. A originally took employment Morrisons to t in with his studies at university. However, despite having graduated with a Degree several years ago, A has not been able to secure graduate-level employment. Having now been a low paid worker in a job classied as low skilled for the past 6 years, A cannot oer prospective employers evidence of graduate-level work experience. He subsequently feels trapped in his supermarket job. A can occasionally work some overtime hours but this is paid at the same basic rate. The former higher overtime rate was discontinued several years ago. More recently overtime has become far less available at the branch, as there are major cutbacks happening. Sta at As level working alongside him at Morrisons are also paid the NMW rate. Indeed, throughout his time spent in the job, A and his colleagues have only ever received wage increases in line with rises in the NMW. A reports that this situation causes a great deal of anger and concern among sta at the branch particularly because as a agship store, As branch of Morrisons is regularly subject to store infrastructure improvements and also generates particularly high prots for the company.
EMPLOYEE B Age: 42 Gender: Male Pay rate: 6.08 per hour Contracted hours: 20 Role: Till operator
EMPLOYEE C Age: Undisclosed Gender: Female Pay rate: Undisclosed Contracted hours: 20 Role: Till operator
t 42, Bs working life has been spent in retail. Over the years, he has held several management positions in several supermarket companies. More recently, B was Assistant Manager at a Morrisons branch but lost the position following an accident at work that left him with a broken knee. Despite a considerable attempt to return to his normal work duties, B continued to suer problems following the operation on his knee and was told by the company that they could only oer him part-time hours on the checkouts if he was not able to full his management role. However, despite now only receiving the NMW rate for a 20 hour week on the branch checkouts, B is nonetheless expected to perform some management duties. This B nds particularly unjust, as he knows that the company allows for pay increases for managers at the branch level but the wage of general Store Assistants is tied to the NMW. On his current wage, B and his wife have not been able to aord to go out socialising for 2 years, especially with three kids. The cinemas a massive treat, a massive treat. B also recalls a culture of negative feedback for branch managers at the company particularly towards managers and sta on the night shift because they rely on those sta to make the store pristine. He remembers as a manager being aware that Morrisons have a record of one of the best performing supermarkets for the availability of product lines, which he saw as being down to the eorts of the night sta.
single parent with two children, Cs household also includes her retired mother. C has worked full-time for Sainsburys for 5 years and feels very lucky that she has, in the main, supportive and understanding managers at the branch where she works. However, Cs oldest son is now nearly 16, and so she will lose the Child Tax Credit on which she relies. Indeed, even with the Tax Credits, C would not be able to make ends meet if her mother did not contribute to the household expenses.
The wage C receives from Sainsburys is not enough for her to be able to live independently with her 2 children without the contribution her mother makes; this is despite the fact that as her children have grown older, and her mother can look after them, C now works a mix of day and night shifts. As working a night shift draws a slightly higher hourly rate than during the day, this shift pattern brings in badly needed extra money but still has an eect on Cs ability to t in her household and caring responsibilities. Theyre really unsociable hours ... Its just that little bit of extra money makes a little bit of dierence. With Christmas coming up, C would very much welcome the opportunity to work some overtime, but this is not available for her job. Overtime is restricted to day shift working and most usually to the check-out roles. C does have the use of a sta discount card, which awards 10 per cent reduction on
items she buys in her branch and on several occasions in the year, such as Christmas, rises to 15 per cent, but she does not feel it makes a signicant contribution to her household economy. To be quite honest, the only reason why we go shopping at Sainsburys is its the nearest one. If we had, like, Asda, wed go there probably because the 10 per cent doesnt make that big of an impact, you know? ... Its only because its on the doorstep, and because we dont drive or anything, that we go.
Region in focus Preston
Regional Research / Preston
Regional economy and labour market context In the North West, current data suggest that of 3.4 million economically active people, 301,000 are unemployed, an unemployment rate of 8.7%. The region has an economic activity rate of 62.1%. In the North West, 26% of women and 15% of men receive low (less than 7 per hour). Most recent data suggest that Preston at the local authority level Preston, has by far the highest number of employed people working within the retail and wholesale sector in Lancashire as a whole, an estimate gure of 15,100. Deprivation in Preston is higher than national average for England, with an estimated 6,965 children living in poverty36, this gure is consistent with broader estimations of the Lancashire region, of around 1 child in 6 living in poverty37; a total of 37,000 children growing up in severe poverty (The Save the Children report referenced here found that these youngsters have no proper heating, are not eating a proper meal on a regular basis and do not have proper school uniforms.)38
NOTES 36 http://www.apho.org.uk/ 37 http://www.bbc.co.uk/lancashire/content/ articles/2008/09/18/one_child_in_four.shtml 38 http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/ blackburn/8869981.1_in_6_children_in_Lancashire_ living_in_poverty_/
Research sample overview / Preston
Gender: 62% male 38% female Average contracted hours 24.5 per week. Sites covered ASDA (Clayton Green and Fulwood) Sainsburys (Preston, Bamber Bridge and Penwortham) Huntapac39 (Tesco Supplier Chain) Employer pension % 14% Trade union membership % 23% Sample of roles shelf stackers, order-pickers, cold fridge stock rotators, produce stackers, till operators, administrative assistant. Length of service range Shortest: 4 months. Longest: 29 years. Average: 6.3 years
Key findings 90% of interviewees not receiving UK Living Wage Included in the 10% that are receiving the UK Living Wage, are a manager with 27 years service and an employee regularly working in excess of 50 hours per week with additional night pay to achieve his pay-rate. 80% of respondents do not have full time contracted hours and rely on overtime, a second job or state benets to survive. 70% of respondents said they do not earn enough to live on 14% of respondents said they were happy with both their pay and terms of contract. 70% of respondents cannot aord to do their personal shopping in their store of employment and shop at other discount outlets. 14% of respondents have a second job due to low wage from main job. Attitudes to pay package When oered the choice of 3 theoretical pay package options, employees selected as below: a) The same rate of pay as I presently receive plus an annual bonus scheme, plus a store discount card 14% b) A higher rate of pay than I presently receive with annual increase, but no annual bonus scheme 71% c) A higher rate of pay than I presently receive with annual increase, but no discount card. 15% When asked which of the following statements best reected their opinion on their current pay package, employees responded as follows:
NOTES 39 http://www.huntapac.co.uk/
a) I think my rate of pay is fair and if I manage my nances carefully, I can live fairly well: 4%
b) My rate of pay is what I would expect but my personal nances do remain tight: 35% c) My rate of pay is lower that I would like and causes me problems like doing without certain foods/clothes/ leisure activities/activities for my children: 4% d) My rate of pay is so low it means I do without a lot of things and I struggle to make ends meet: 41% e) My rate of pay is so low it means I am getting into debt, having to work more and seeing less of family and friends: 16% f ) My rate of pay is so low that it is causing me personal problems, both nancial and physical, including stress or bad health: 0% 57% reported a slight pay increase in last 12 months 43% did not. Average hourly pay rate: 6.52 Lowest hourly pay rate recorded: 6.17 (day shelf stacker) Highest hourly pay rate recorded: 13.50 (Store Manager with 27 years service) Incentives Annual Performance bonus 61% of respondents did not receive a performance related bonus for the most recent trading year. Discount store-card 100% had received a discount store card most dont do main shop in store of employment as too expensive 33% use rarely as store too expensive and so use cheaper stores; 70% of respondents report shopping at discount food stores such as Aldi or Lidl as more economical than using discount store card in store of employment.
Training 28% felt they had not been oered training by their employer to gain greater skills 61% felt their employer had not taken action to assist them in getting promotion to a dierent or better paid role Overtime 38% take regular over-time hours to gain extra income 2 respondents reported problems with receiving overtime pay on more than one occasion. Reasons for taking overtime a) Just for extra money: 35% b) Do not earn enough with basic pay and contracted hours: 50% c) Pressurised to do so by employer: 0% d) To help out colleagues/team: 14% Personal debt and financial difficulty 71% of respondents hold personal debts (excluding mortgage payments) of between 500 20,000. 30% do not have any personal debt outside of housing costs. (NB: It is worth noting that the 30% without any personal debt are all within the 45-55 age bracket, whereas the 70% with personal debt all fall within the 20-45 age brackets) Most common personal debt bracket is between 500 4,000 (42% of respondents) 70% of respondents say their household expenditure has increased in the past 12 months. continued >
Most respondents on low contracted hours report claiming tax credits and housing benet. Most respondents not paying into a pension scheme as unaordable on present rate of pay.
Sample of interviews / Preston
EMPLOYEE D Age: 20 Gender: Male Pay rate: 6.54 per hour Contracted hours: 25 Role: Till Operator
received a 14p per hour pay increase in the last nancial year. D does not believe his wage is fair and struggles to make ends meet. Most enjoyable aspect of role is relationship with colleagues. D has recently joined a trade union for better protection. Worst thing about role is pay rate and treatment of shop oor sta by managers. Daily workload is manageable but he is expected to do more if a colleague is o sick or on annual leave. No extra cover and especially bad at weekends when store busy. D has received training in health and safety and stock control and has been oered further training but has rejected as team leaders are stressed all of the time. D states: I have to live with my Mum and her partner as I could not aord to live on my current salary. I have to give my Mum 50 per week and buy all my own toiletries and food. I am saving to go to university next year but with the increased cost of living I am struggling to save any signicant amount. My Mum is registered disabled and is unable to work, so I have some care responsibilities which I share with her partner. This stops me from taking a second job although I can do overtime if Mum has her partner at home. I am not eligible to claim welfare benets due to living with my Mum. I have a store discount card at 10%; all sta get this after a 12 week probationary period. I do not shop at the store unless it is a double discount day or there are special oers on, as it is too expensive. I received a pro-rata bonus payment in March of 46, due to not being there a full 12 months. This isnt a great amount and I would rather have an hourly rate increase and they scrap the bonus. I have cut down on personal stu like clothes and PC games and I dont go out as much as I did (twice per month) and stay in a lot or just go round to friends houses at night if Im not working.
EMPLOYEE C Age: 39 Gender: Male Pay rate: 6.50 per hour Contracted hours: 30+ Role: Produce Stock Controller
C lives with his partner and relies on their combined income. If it were not for his relationship, C states that he would not be able to live on his current salary and would be forced to move back in with his parents. Cs contracted hours t in with his home life and cause no problems. C has does not buy personal items and has recently cut back on clothes, going out (goes out once per month and a meal with his partner roughly once every 2 months), and his motorcycling club (fuel too expensive and store discount does not extend to fuel). C is not entitled to claim any benets owing to his partners income. C has a store discount card set at 10% rate. He has started shopping at cheaper, nonbranded food shops to save money. C qualies for an employer bonus scheme; which is subject to store targets being met, overall team performance, lateness, and wastage. C states that if a sta member is o sick it is deducted from their bonus. C did not disclose his bonus for the last nancial year.
received a pay increase in the last nancial year of 14p per hour. C stated that he felt his wage was abysmal. Aspects he dislikes most about his job are the pay rate and lack of communication from managers to shop oor. C feels his daily workload is manageable, just although there are issues at weekends when busier. C states that the working atmosphere is sometimes dire. C has been trained in health and safety, safe handling and his employers own standards training.
Sample of interviews / Preston
EMPLOYEE B Age: Undisclosed Gender: Male Pay rate: 6.44 per hour Contracted hours: 40 (regularly works 56) Role: Driver
oered to those who work from 5pm in to the night. B recorded that a minimum wage increase had been paid to packers and pickers within the warehouse division (October 2011) but no wage increased had been discussed with drivers. The last increase day can recall was in Oct 2010 when 14p per/hour had been added to the standard rate. D records that this was reached unilaterally by the employer without any negotiation with sta or the relevant trade union, and that sta were notied verbally. B records that he is disappointed with his salary and states were he a younger person with a family he would seriously struggle to make ends meet. D records a reoccurring issue with Tesco charging his company for using their branded produce trays, and a ner system imposed if an incorrect order is despatched on a pallet. The ne is 7 per tray and per error.
works for a private contractor/ supplier to a major supermarket chain. His role involves driving, HGV shunting in the companies yards and trips to the companys farms to collect produce that has been freshly picked. B receives a standard rate of pay set at 6.44 per hour and states that he does not receive night out money or a bonus, although a higher rate of 8.40 per hour is
Region in focus North East

Regional economy and labour market context The North East has for a long time been bottom or near the bottom of a range of indicators of poverty, including median earnings, unemployment, welfare claimants and economic inactivity. A rapid erosion in the manufacturing base and the traditional industries of the region coal mining, steel manufacturing and shipbuilding have only partially been oset by the increase in the role of the service sector in the regions economy. As a result, there are many pockets of worklessness centred particularly in former industrial areas such as the Northumberland and Durham coalelds, both banks of the Tyne, Sunderland and Teesside. According to the 2010 Labour Force Survey, 119,812 people (10% of the overall working population) in the North East were employed in retail, working in around 10,355 retail establishments. Of that workforce, 64% are female and 52% work part-time. The North East accounts for 5% of the total retail workforce in the UK. Research carried out by CACI Retail Footprint show that the major retail centres in the North East are located along the coast and main estuaries of Tyne and Wear and Teesside. In areas worst hit by both longer term de-industrialisation and recent recession in the North East, retail (and supermarkets specically) is now often the major local employer. The economic news has been unremittingly grim for the North East during 2010-11. The big headlines have been made by the unemployment gures. The September 2011 release of the Regional Labour Market
Regional Research / North East
Statistical Bulletin from the Oce of National Statistics (ONS)40 showed an unemployment rise of 18,000 for the last quarter alone, an increase of 1.3%. The North East has the highest rate of unemployment in the country at 10.7%. That gure represents the highest regional unemployment rate of any region since 1997. Within that regional gure, there are particular black spots, such as Middlesbrough, shown to have the highest unemployment rate of any local authority in the country at 14.3%. The North East also has the lowest employment rate in the UK - 65.9% - with the numbers of those in employment falling signicantly during 2010-11 (the fall of 2.1% was the largest in the UK). What has also been signicant is the rise in youth unemployment. Almost 30,000 young people are out of work in the North East according to latest gures again with spikes in places like Gateshead (26%) and Sunderland (24%) and those not in employment, education or a training scheme (NEETS) has risen by 14% over the last year. The long term unemployment problem has undoubtedly been exacerbated by the recent cuts in public services. The North East has nearly 300,000 people employed in the public sector, which equates to just over 25% of the working population. As such, the region has been disproportionally hit by the cuts in the civil service and local government. With an estimated 65% of public sector workers being women, they in turn have been particularly aected by the redundancies, pay freezes and casualisation involved.
However, the story in the North East is not just about unemployment. In 2010, IPPR produced a report In-work Poverty and the Recession41. It showed that 13% of working households in the North East were ocially in poverty, second only to the West Midlands. After housing costs are taken into account, the North East has the third highest levels of in-work poverty, after London and the West Midlands. A culture of low pay, insecure work and the fear of unemployment has made a large part of the working population in the region as vulnerable to poverty as those without jobs. The report speculates that while unemployment had not, at least at that point, spiralled in the same way as previous recessions, pay freezes, reduced hours and the withdrawal of overtime payments has had the eect of increasing in-work poverty.
NOTES 40 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_232702.pdf 41 http://www.ippr.org/publications/55/1796/in-workpoverty-in-the-recession
Research sample overview / North East
Gender: 33% male 67% female Average contracted hours 23 per week. Sites covered Tesco (Teesport Distribution Centre, North Shields, Hardwick) Morrisons (Middlesbrough Berwick Hills, Tynemouth, Stockton, Jarrow) ASDA (Sunderland, Thornaby, North Shields, Teesport, Lemington, Benton) Employer pension % 22% Trade union membership % 18% Sample of roles Shop floor sales, Shelf-stacker, Warehouse person, Store Supervisor, Store Cleaner, Forklift driver/operator) Length of service range Shortest: 8 days. Longest: 9 years. Average: 7.5 years
Key findings 82% of respondents are not receiving the UK Living Wage 42% of respondents do not have full time contracted hours and rely on overtime, a second job or state benets to survive. 40% of respondents said they do not earn enough to live on 22% of respondents said they were happy with both their pay and terms of contract. 51% of respondents cannot aord to do their personal shopping in their store of employment and shop at other discount outlets or markets. 17% of respondents has a second job due to low wage from main job. Attitudes to pay package When oered the choice of 3 theoretical pay package options, employees selected as below: a) The same rate of pay as I presently receive plus an annual bonus scheme, plus a store discount card (essentially the present status quo in all 4 major supermarkets after either 6 or 12 months service) - 39% b) A higher rate of pay than I presently receive with annual increase, but no annual bonus scheme - 34% c) A higher rate of pay than I presently receive with annual increase, but no discount card - 26% When asked which of the following statements best reected their opinion on their current pay package, employees responded as follows: a) I think my rate of pay is fair and if I manage my nances carefully, I can live fairly well: 34%
b) My rate of pay is what I would expect but my personal nances do remain tight: 26% c) My rate of pay is lower that I would like and causes me problems like doing without certain foods/clothes/leisure activities/activities for my children: 15% d) My rate of pay is so low it means I do without a lot of things and I struggle to make ends meet: 4% e) My rate of pay is so low it means I am getting into debt, having to work more and seeing less of family and friends: 8% f ) My rate of pay is so low that it is causing me personal problems, both nancial and physical, including stress or bad health: 13% 56% reported a slight pay increase in last 12 months 30% did not. Average hourly pay rate: 6.67 Lowest hourly pay rate recorded: 6.15 (store cleaner) Highest hourly pay rate recorded: 8.40 (Shop oor sales 9 years service) Incentives Annual Performance bonus 69% of respondents did not receive a performance related bonus for the most recent trading year. Discount store-card 82% had received a discount store card Of those who have, 34% use rarely as store too expensive and so use cheaper stores; 17% of respondents report shopping at discount food stores as more economical than using discount store card in store of employment.
Training 34% felt they had not been oered training by their employer to gain greater skills 73% felt their employer had not taken action to assist them in getting promotion to a dierent or better paid role Overtime. 56% take regular over-time hours to gain extra income 30% of respondents reported problems with receiving overtime pay on more than one occasion. Reasons for taking overtime: a) Just for extra money: 18% b) Do not earn enough with basic pay and contracted hours: 44% c) Pressurised to do so by employer: 10% d) To help out colleagues/team: 28% Personal debt and financial difficulty 65% of respondents hold personal debts (excluding mortgage payments) of between 500 20,000. Most common personal debt bracket is between 500 - 4,000 (47% of respondents) 73% of respondents say their household expenditure has increased in the past 12 months.
continued >
Most respondents on low contracted hours report claiming either tax credits and housing benet or both. Most respondents not paying into a pension scheme as unaordable on present rate of pay or unfamiliar with option available.
Sample of interviews / North East
EMPLOYEE A Age: Early 20s Gender: Male Pay rate: 6.15 per hour Contracted hours: 25 Shop floor shelf stacker
He has not to date been oered any formal training from his employer. A states that his household income level has decreased in the past 12 months and that his expenditure has increased. He has cancelled a Sky Sports subscription and the cost of travel to work is causing him real problems. A has increased borrowing both on a credit card and from family and friends. A mentions that there is an atmosphere of close supervision and pressurised work within his store.
mployee A recently gained permanent residence in the UK. He has no dependants. A states that he is concerned about his pay rate.
A receives state benets and so will not work over time as this could jeopardise or reduce his benet allocation. He says he would ideally have a full time contract and remove himself from the benets system, but that this is not an option with his present employer. A states that no-one within his store has discussed with him the possibility of receiving a performance related bonus.
A states that he started his job with other young people and that when he frequently checks the sta notice board they have been included as employee of the month. He feels he does a good job and states that he has not been mentored and so does not know how to access any promotional or reward based incentives. A has been asked to take holiday owed and says that his supervisor has been helpful in certain respects, particularly in terms of arranging a possible to transfer to a store nearer his home, in order to save travel costs.
Table of National Pay Samples

The tables presented below are intended to provide a sample illustration of how much can be lost to an individual employee, per calendar month, as a consequence of not receiving the relevant established living wage marker. These established living wage markers are as follows: IN LONDON a) The London Living Wage as set by the Greater London Authority and supported by the previous and current Mayor of London42. OUTSIDE LONDON a) UK Living Wage set by the UK Living Wage Foundation43 b) The Joseph Rowntree Foundation Minimum Income Standard gure for the hourly rate a single person needs to earn to achieve a minimum acceptable standard of living c) The Joseph Rowntree Foundation Minimum Income Standard gure for the hourly rate a single person lone parent + 1 child needs to earn to achieve a minimum acceptable standard of living44 WAGE RATE DATA All wage rate data below is sourced from the most recent Incomes Data Pay and Conditions in Retail Report 201145 Further, direct verication has been attempted by the Fair Pay Network with varying success. All hourly living wage rates and quoted supermarket hourly pay rates are pre-tax.
NOTES 42 http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/economic_unit/ workstreams/living-wage.jsp 43 http://www.crsp.ac.uk/MIS/downloads/livingwage/TheLiving-Wage-in-the-United-Kingdom-May-2011.pdf 44 http://www.minimumincomestandard.org/ downloads/2011_launch/MIS_ndings_2011.pdf 45 http://www.incomesdata.co.uk/pay/default.aspx
ASDA London Table 1.0 illustrates the amount lost to employees over one calendar month as a result of receiving an hourly wage rate less than the London Living Wage
London Living Wage rate Initial six months pay rate1 PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week London Living Wage rate Established pay rate PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week
8.30 P/H
6.87 P/H
99.14
241.67
8.30 P/H
7.24 P/H
73.49
179.84
ASDA Outside London 1. Provincial stores Table 1.1 illustrates the amount lost to employees in ASDA provincial stores over one calendar month as a result of receiving an hourly wage rate less than the established national living wage markers
Living Wage Marker Initial six months pay rate2 PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week Established pay rate PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week
UK LW 7.20 P/H MIS Single Person 7.67 P/H MIS Lone Parent + 1 Child
6.15 P/H 6.15 P/H 6.15 P/H
72.80 105.38 220.48
177.45 256.88 537.42
6.36 P/H 6.36 P/H 6.36 P/H
58.24 90.82 205.92
141.96 221.39 501.93
2. Middle stores Table 1.2 illustrates the amount lost to ASDA middle store employees over one calendar month as a result of receiving an hourly wage rate less than the
Living Wage Marker Initial six months pay rate3 PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week Established pay rate PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week
UK LW 7.20 P/H MIS Single Person 7.67 P/H MIS Lone Parent + 1 Child
6.46 P/H 6.46 P/H 6.46 P/H
51.30 83.89 198.98
125.06 204.49 485.03
6.80 P/H 6.80 P/H 6.80 P/H
27.73 60.32 175.41
67.60 147.03 427.57
continued >
Sainsburys Inside London Table 1.3 illustrates the amount lost to employees over one calendar month as a result of receiving an hourly wage rate less than the London Living Wage. NB: In London, Sainsburys operate a base rate, plus an additional, store location specic store premium per hour amount.
London Living Wage rate Ini al six months pay rate4 (Pay Band 2 counter assistant, general assistant, warehouse assistant) Band 3: 6.72 P/H Outer London Band 4: 6.84 P/H Zones 2/3 Band 5: 7.06 P/H Zone 1 PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week London Living Wage rate Established pay rate (Pay Band 2 counter assistant, general assistant, warehouse assistant) PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week
8.30 P/H
109.54
267.02
8.30 P/H
Band 3: 6.88 P/H Outer London Band 4: 7.00 P/H Zones 2/3 Band 5: 7.22 P/H Zone 1
98.45
239.98
101.22
246.74
90.13
219.70
85.97
209.56
74.88
182.52
Sainsburys Outside London Table 1.4 illustrates the amount lost to Sainsburys Band 1 (outside London and Home Counties) employees over one calendar month as a result of receiving an hourly wage rate less than the established living wage markers.
Living Wage Marker Ini al six months pay rate5 (Pay Band 2 counter assistant, general assistant, warehouse assistant) PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week Established pay rate (Pay Band 2 counter assistant, general assistant, warehouse assistant) PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week
UK LW 7.20 P/H MIS Single Person 7.67 P/H MIS Lone Parent + 1 Child 9.33 P/H
6.21 P/H 6.21 P/H 6.21 P/H
68.64 101.22 216.32
167.31 246.74 527.28
6.37 P/H 6.37 P/H 6.37 P/H
57.54 90.13 147.68
140.27 219.70 359.97
Tesco Inside London Table 1.5 illustrates the amount lost to Tesco employees over one calendar month as a result of receiving an hourly wage rate less than the London Living Wage. NB: In London, Tesco operate a base rate, plus an additional, store location specic location allowance per hour amount set for all London postcode areas (Band 5) at 1.01.
London Living Wage rate Initial six months pay rate6 (Grade B&C Customer services assistant) PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week London Living Wage rate Established pay rate (Grade B&C Customer services assistant) PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week
8.30 P/H
7.48 P/H
56.85
138.58
8.30 P/H
7.82 P/H
33.28
81.12
Tesco Express Inside London Table 1.6 illustrates the amount lost to Tesco employees over one calendar month as a result of receiving an hourly wage rate less than the London Living Wage. NB: Sta employed at Tesco Express stores and covered by an entirely dierent, independent pay structure. All sta below supervisory level are paid at the same grade, approximately 5% lower than the Grade C rate of main stores.
London Living Wage rate Ini al six months pay rate7 (Grade B&C Customer services assistant) PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week London Living Wage rate Established pay rate (Grade B&C Customer services assistant) PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week
8.30 P/H
6.15 P/H
149.06
363.35
8.30 P/H
7.47 P/H
126.88
309.27
continued >
Tesco Outside London Table 1.7 illustrates the amount lost to Tesco employees employed outside London (in 2 sample areas) over one calendar month as a result of receiving an hourly wage rate less than the established living wage markers. NB: Tesco operate 5 regional pay bands across the UK: a base rate, plus an additional, store location specic location allowance per hour amount.
Living Wage Marker Initial six months pay rate8 (Grade B&C Customer services assistant) PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week Established pay rate (Grade B&C Customer services assistant) PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week
UK LW 7.20 P/H
BAND 2 (Large towns outside south-east) 6.50 P/H BAND 1 (Rest of country) 6.47 P/H
48.53
118.30
BAND 2 (Large towns outside south-east) 6.84 P/H BAND 1 (Rest of country) 6.81 P/H BAND 2
24.96
60.84
50.61
123.37
27.04
65.91
MIS Single Person 7.67 P/H
BAND 2
81.12
197.73
57.54
140.27
BAND 1 MIS Lone Parent + 1 Child BAND 2
83.20 196.21
202.80 478.27
BAND 1 BAND 2
59.62 172.64
145.34 420.81
BAND 1
198.29
483.34
BAND 1
174.72
425.88
Morrisons Inside London Table 1.8 illustrates the amount lost to Morrisons employees over one calendar month as a result of receiving an hourly wage rate less than the London Living Wage.
London Living Wage rate Initial pay rate9 (Customer services assistant) PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week London Living Wage rate Established pay rate (Customer services assistant) PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week PCM Loss to employee Working 39hrs per week
8.30 P/H
6.49 P/H
125.49
305.89
8.30 P/H
7.35 P/H
65.86
160.55
Morrisons Outside London Table 1.9 illustrates the amount lost to Morrisons employees employed outside London (in 2 sample areas) over one calendar month as a result of receiving an hourly wage rate less than the established living wage markers.
Living Wage Marker
Initial pay rate10 (Customer services assistant) 6.49 P/H 6.49 P/H 6.49 P/H
PCM Loss to employee Working 16hrs per week 49.22 81.81 196.90
Established pay rate (Customer services assistant) 6.76 P/H 6.76 P/H 6.76 P/H
UK LW 7.20 P/H MIS Single Person 7.67 P/H MIS Lone Parent + 1 Child 9.33 P/H
(Footnotes) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ASDA operate a lower appointment rate for initial 26 weeks employment ASDA operate a lower appointment rate for initial 26 weeks employment ASDA operate a lower appointment rate for initial 26 weeks employment Sainsburys operate a recruitment pay rate in London typically for the first 26 weeks of employment. Sainsburys operate a recruitment pay rate typically for the first 26 weeks of employment. Tesco operate a starter rate pay rate to employees with less than 12 months service. Tesco operate a starter rate pay rate to employees with less than 12 months service. Tesco operate a starter rate pay rate to employees with less than 12 months service. Morrisons operate a starter rate pay rate to employees with less than 13 weeks service.
10 Morrisons operate a starter rate pay rate to employees with less than 13 weeks service

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Face the Difference

Andy Clarke Chief Executive Officer of ASDA

Face the Difference

Face the Difference

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Executive Summary & Recommendations

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NOTES 26 http://www.fairpensions.org.uk/category/categories/living-wage 27 http://www.citizensuk.org/2011/04/press-release-living-wage-campaign-meet-tesco-ceo-philip-clarke/ 28 http://www.unitetheunion.org/campaigns/sainsbury_s_-_pay_a_living_wag.aspx

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Report and Research Methodology

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Region in focus London

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Regional Research / London

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Research sample overview / London

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Research sample overview / London

Research sample overview / London

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Sample of interviews / London

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Sample of interviews / London

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Sample of interviews / London

Region in focus Yorkshire & the Humber

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Regional Research / Yorkshire & the Humber

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Research sample overview / Yorkshire & the Humber

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Research sample overview / Yorkshire & the Humber

Research sample overview / Yorkshire & the Humber

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Sample of interviews / Yorkshire & the Humber

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Region in focus Preston

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Regional Research / Preston

NOTES 36 http://www.apho.org.uk/ 37 http://www.bbc.co.uk/lancashire/content/ articles/2008/09/18/one_child_in_four.shtml 38 http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/ blackburn/8869981.1_in_6_children_in_Lancashire_ living_in_poverty_/

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Research sample overview / Preston

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Research sample overview / Preston

Research sample overview / Preston

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Sample of interviews / Preston

Research sample overview / Preston

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Sample of interviews / Preston

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Region in focus North East

Regional Research / North East

NOTES 40 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_232702.pdf 41 http://www.ippr.org/publications/55/1796/in-workpoverty-in-the-recession

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