Falling into line with some retail rivals rewarding staff for their work on the coronavirus 'front line', Wm Morrisons Supermarkets PLC (LON:MRW) said it will give store workers an extra bonus this year.
All full-time staff will receive a 6% bonus on their earnings for the next 12 months, the Bradford-based grocer said, meaning the average bonus will be around £1,050. Last year's bonus averaged roughly £350.
The bonus is a percentage of the entire year’s pay rather than just the next 8-12 weeks, the FTSE 100 group said.
"Morrisons is recognising the huge effort by its colleagues who are helping to feed the nation during the coronavirus outbreak," the FTSE 100 group said in a statement on Thursday.
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This came a day after Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) trumpeted "15% extra" pay for store and supply chain staff, and discounter B&M (LON:BME) said store and distribution workers in the UK were being paid a “10% enhancement" to pay.
Last month, Tesco (LON:TSCO) announced a 10% bonus on the hourly rate for hours worked for staff in stores, distribution centres and customer support centres, as well as salaried store managers, backdated to Monday 9 March.
Seemingly looking to outdo each other in terms of their generosity to staff, Morrisons said because the bonus will reward staff over 12 months rather than just two or three, its staff "will see the largest special bonus of those announced over the last few weeks in the supermarket sector".
The group, Britain's fourth largest grocer, said the bonus will be paid quarterly this year, will be available to staff who are off sick or are self-isolating and will be made eligible to permanent and temporary staff.