Starbucks will raise wages for all UK staff in accordance with the National Living Wage, a 6 per cent hike for its workers.
The starting wage will be increased to £7.20 (€9.80) per hour, up from £6.77. Supervisors will earn £8.72 (€11.85), up from £8.20. The coffee giant also announced intentions to pay its London staff a 'premium' rate, although no details were given out on the figure.
Starbucks has said the increase in wages will not mean a rise in its prices, unlike Costa Coffee, where boss Andy Harrison said it planned "some selective price increases" to balance paying higher wages.
The minimum wage legislation announced by the UK government will take effect in July next year and will mean every worker in the UK aged 25 and over will earn at least £7.20 an hour.
Starbucks has announced it will pay all of its workers this amount, over half of whom are under the age of 25. Some critics of the bill had argued that companies such as Starbucks would hire more under-25s to avoid paying the minimum wage.
