Top Stories
Factbox-What European companies are doing as workers face high inflation
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on December 2, 2022
7 min readLast updated: February 3, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on December 2, 2022
7 min readLast updated: February 3, 2026
(Reuters) -Companies across Europe are offering one-off bonuses and renegotiating wages as surging inflation raises food and energy bills for staff over the winter.
(Reuters) -Companies across Europe are offering one-off bonuses and renegotiating wages as surging inflation raises food and energy bills for staff over the winter.
Here are some examples by sector:
AUTOS, AIRLINES AND TRAVEL:
SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES SYSTEM (SAS)
Two labour unions representing SAS cabin crew in Norway said on Nov. 30 they had signed a two-year deal.
VOLKSWAGEN
Volkswagen in late November agreed a two-year wage deal for workers at its western German factories, offering around 8.5% more pay, as well as a lump-sum payment worth 3,000 euros after tax.
LUFTHANSA
German carrier Lufthansa on Nov. 1 said it would increase salaries of 19,000 cabin crew members. The raise will come in two stages next year, with 250 euros more basic pay from Jan. 1, and 2.5% more basic pay from July 1.
BRITISH AIRWAYS
British Airways on July 22 accepted a new pay offer for staff at Heathrow airport which included a consolidated pay rise of 8%, a one-off bonus and the reinstatement of shift pay.
AIR FRANCE
Air France on Sept. 14 said it would raise salaries for all staff by 5% in anticipation of wage talks due next year and make a 1,000 euro bonus payment.
BREMBO
Brake maker Brembo in May announced a 1,000 euro ($977) gross one-off salary increase to its employees in Italy.
STELLANTIS
Automaker Stellantis said on Sept. 27 it would provide financial support worth up to 1,400 euros to most of its employees in France and would discuss a similar move in Italy.
Italian unions representing staff at Stellantis, Ferrari, Iveco and CNH Industrial have demanded a wage rise of 8.4% in 2023.
Stellantis has offered its French workers a 5.3% pay rise to cope with inflation, the carmaker said on Dec. 2, drawing an unenthusiastic response from unions which have mostly called for an increase of 7.3% to 8.5%.
AMSTERDAM SCHIPHOL AIRPORT
Amsterdam Schiphol airport is offering security workers a pay rise of 20% on average in a bid to solve ongoing staff shortages, labour union FNV said on Oct. 6.
RENAULT
Carmaker Renault in September offered staff over 1,000 euros in exceptional payments.
SAGA
British holiday group Saga in September said it was offering one-off benefits to frontline staff which include an 11% pay rise and a one-off cost-of-living payment.
The cost-of-living payment will be made in the form of two cash payments of 500 pounds each.
FOOD AND GENERAL RETAILERS:
DIA
Spanish retailer Dia agreed on Nov. 25 to give employees at supermarkets and warehouses pay rises of up to 12%over the next two years, plus special bonuses to some lower-paid workers.
TESCO
Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco on Nov. 18 offered its workers the option to receive up to 25% of their contractual pay early. Tesco had announced a second pay rise for hourly paid staff in October, equating to a nearly 8% rise over the year.
CURRYS
British electricals retailer Currys said on Sept. 30 it had raised hourly pay rates for a third time in 13 months, adding that from Oct. 30 hourly paid staff across the UK would get a minimum rate of 10.35 pounds ($11.66), up 3.5%.
CO-OPERATIVE GROUP
Britain’s Co-operative Group on Sept. 29 said it was looking to give a 5.3% pay rise to 41,000 of its frontline workers.
CARREFOUR
France’s biggest retailer Carrefour on Sept. 22 offered a 2.5% pay rise from November, including a 100 euro extra payment in October.
The offer means an overall 8.3% wage increase when compared to August 2021.
JOHN LEWIS
British retailer John Lewis said in September it would pay a one-off cost of living support payment of 500 pounds for full-time employees.
ALDI UK
German-owned discount supermarket group Aldi UK said on July 25 it would pay a minimum of 10.50 pounds per hour and 11.95 pounds in London – rises of 4% and 3.5% respectively – from September.
SAINSBURY’S
Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s said on Sept. 13 it would from Oct. 16 pay workers a minimum of 10.25 pounds per hour, up from 10.00 pounds, and 11.30 pounds in London, up from 11.05 pounds.
That’s equivalent to a pay hike of 7.9% this year for hourly paid workers.
MORRISONS
Supermarket chain Morrisons on June 10 said it would pay a minimum of 10.20 pounds per hour from October, with London workers paid a minimum of 11.05 pounds.
MARKS & SPENCER
Retailer Marks & Spencer said on Sept. 21 it would pay a minimum of 10.20 pounds per hour, up from 10.00 pounds, from Oct. 1. It says the annual rise is 7.4%.
LIDL GB
German-owned discount supermarket Lidl GB said on Sept. 22 it would from Oct. 1 pay workers outside of London a minimum of 10.90 pounds an hour, up from 10.10 pounds, and workers in London a minimum of 11.95 pounds, up from 11.30 pounds. It says the annual rise is 10% to 14.5%.
LUXURY GOODS:
French fashion giant LVMH announced a bonus payment for 27,000 of its staff in France on Sept. 29 that would range from 1,000 euros to 1,500 euros.
BANKS & FINANCIALS:
UNICREDIT
UniCredit will give its employees in Italy a bonus of 2,400 euros mostly to compensate for rising inflation, the sector’s largest union FABI said on Dec. 2.
On Nov. 18, an internal memo showed the company would give its staff in Germany a bonus of 2,500 euros.
NATWEST
NatWest has offered the bulk of its 41,500 staff in Britain a minimum 2,000 pound salary increase and a one-off payment of 1,000 pounds, it said on Dec. 1.
LLOYDS
Britain’s biggest domestic bank Lloyds offered staff either a 2,000 pound pay rise or a 5% lift in salary – whichever is greater – up to a maximum of 5,000 pounds, according to a notice published by union Unite to its members in early November.
INTESA SANPAOLO
Italy’s biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo in November agreed with unions a further 500-euro one-off payment, the sector’s largest union FABI said on Nov. 22.
MAPFRE
Spanish insurer Mapfre will pay a one-time 400 euro bonus at Christmas to its approximately 10,000 employees in Spain to help them cope with soaring inflation, it said on Nov. 24.
NATIONWIDE BUILDING SOCIETY
British lender Nationwide Building Society said on Aug. 15 it would pay more than 11,000 of its staff 1,200 pounds.
HSBC
British bank HSBC will pay some of its British workforce a one-off payment of 1,500 pounds, a memo seen by Reuters on Aug. 1 said.
OTHERS:
ROYAL MAIL
British post and parcel company Royal Mail offered on Nov. 23 a 9% pay hike over 18 months to employees who are members of the Communication Workers Union, but the union rejected the offer and is planning several strikes.
COMPASS GROUP Contract caterer Compass Group launched a salary advance scheme and a new grant for employees in Britain, allowing monthly salaried employees the ability to withdraw up to 50% of their earned pay before payday, it said on Nov. 21.
MITIE Cleaning and property management company Mitie said on Nov. 17 it was offering lower-paid staff a “winter support package”, which entails one-off bonuses, retail discounts, and an option to borrow against future pay.
PRET A MANGER
Coffee and sandwich chain Pret A Manger in October said from Dec. 1 all UK employees across shops and its support centre would receive a 5% pay increase, equating to a 13% rise within a year.
A.G. BARR
Soft drink maker A.G. Barr said on Sept. 27 it had offered a 1,000 pound one-off cost-of-living special payment to its employees paid under 45,000 pounds.
SERCO
British outsourcing firm Serco said on Aug. 4 it would hand out an additional 9 million pounds in one-off payments to around 45,000 non-management staff.
($1 = 1.0233 euros)
(Reporting by Sinchita Mitra, Prerna Bedi and Amna Karimi in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Mark Potter)
Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, eroding purchasing power.
One-off bonuses are single payments made to employees, often as a reward or to help them cope with rising living costs.
Salary increases are adjustments made to an employee's pay, often to account for inflation or to reward performance.
A cost-of-living payment is a financial assistance payment made to help individuals cope with rising living expenses.
Explore more articles in the Top Stories category
