TSB to hand out £1,000 cost-of-living bonus to 4,500 staff

Around 4,500 staff at TSB are to be given a £1,000 bonus after the high street lender became the latest firm to announce payouts to help employees weather the cost-of-living crisis.

The payment will be made to all staff at the bank earning up to £35,000 – working out at 76% of employees – and will be made in two stages, with £500 in October and the remaining £500 next February.

Trade union Unite said it had successfully secured the payout on behalf of workers at the bank to help with the rocketing cost of energy and wider eye-watering rises in the cost of living.

National officer Caren Evans said: “Unite was able to successfully demonstrate to TSB that the lowest paid members of staff are struggling to meet their costs of living.

“The agreement announced today is welcome news for over 4,000 staff, and the £1,000 payment will be given to all those regardless of whether they are full- or part-time workers.”

A spokesman for TSB said: “We know that the rising cost of living is a concern for many of our colleagues, so we will be supporting eligible colleagues this winter with an additional cost-of-living payment of £1,000.”

The group added that the payment also comes on top of a salary increase and bonus already paid to colleagues in March, which saw it hike its starting salary to £21,000 a year for all employees.

It follows moves by other employers to help staff struggling in the cost crunch, with Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays making similar payments to employees.

Retailer Aldi also announced on Monday that it will give its 26,000 store workers across the UK their second pay rise since the start of the year as inflation continues to surge.

The German discounter, which runs 970 UK supermarkets, said store assistants will see their minimum pay increase to £10.50 an hour, and £11.95 for those in Greater London.

Households are set to come under severe financial pressure this year, with inflation already running at 9.4% and expected to surge above 11% in the autumn when the energy price cap is hiked once again.

Some economists believe inflation may reach around 12% in October.