Approximately 8,600 Pret A Manger staff in the UK will receive an average 13% pay increase in 2022 alone | Photo credit: Pret A Manger

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Pret A Manger has announced a second pay rise for UK staff in 2022, pledging an additional £10m ($11.1m) to support its employees in the wake of the rising cost of living.

From 1 December 2022, all UK-based Pret A Manger employees will receive a 5% pay increase. The investment means that approximately 8,600 UK store staff will receive an average 13% pay increase in 2022 alone.

In January 2022 the coffee and food-to-go chain announced investment of more than £9.2m ($10.2m) to raise wages for 8,000 of its UK store staff from £9.40 up to £10.15 per hour.

“Our people have always been at the heart of our business. All over the country, our shop teams work around the clock to make Pret a place people love. With the rising cost of living putting increased pressure on our people, we wanted to do more to support them, and to say thank you for continuing to go above and beyond for our customers.

“This will be the second year in a row we will have introduced a second pay rise in the same year for our employees, and we’re proud to be leading the industry on barista pay. We aspire to always be a top employer, with all our employees earning well above the National Minimum Wage irrespective of age.

“We hope this further investment alongside staff discounts and free food and drink while working, will go some way in helping our teams through the winter months and beyond,” said Guy Meakin, Interim Managing Director, Pret A Manger UK & Ireland.

Pret A Manger currently operates approximately 550 stores in the UK. Staff will see a pay increase from between £9.80 and £11.00 per hour to between £10.30 and £11.55 per hour depending on location.

Difficulties arising from the rising cost of living add to ongoing staff shortages in the hospitality industry. Office for National Statistics data from June 2022 showed that UK hospitality businesses are trying to fill 83% more vacancies than they were in March-May 2019.

Like Pret A Manger, UK-based Costa Coffee raised hourly worker wages by at least 5% in UK company-owned stores in October 2021.