Tesco Ireland today announced a €14 million investment in colleague pay and benefits, building on similar increases announced last year.
The retailer will provide a significant boost in paid maternity, adoptive and paternity leave, making Tesco one of the leading retailers in the provision of family leave entitlements.
As part of the investment, most of the retailer’s established hourly-paid colleagues will receive a 3% pay increase from 1 January 2025.
This means that Tesco will pay the average worker €17.61 per hour – well ahead of the new national living wage, expected in 2026.
Additionally, fully paid maternity leave will extend from its current 14 weeks to 26 weeks, and fully paid adoptive leave will increase from 14 weeks to 24 weeks for employees with over 12 months’ service.
Fully paid paternity leave will also double to two weeks for those working with the company for over six months.
These family leave changes apply to those working in stores, distribution centres, Tesco’s customer engagement centre, and its offices.
Benefits
Along with pay enhancements, Tesco will continue to offer its regular colleague benefits, such as the annual bonus, the annual €2,000 colleague discount, free virtual GP service, and more.
This move underpins Tesco’s continued support for the financial well-being of its workforce of 13,500 across the country.
Announcing the investment, Tesco Ireland’s people director, Maurice Kelly, said, “We recognise the incredibly important role our colleagues play in the success of our business.
“The investment we’re announcing today in pay and benefits, coupled with the investment for 2024, brings over €30 million worth of enhancements to our colleagues in just two years.
“We are particularly committed to supporting our colleagues during major life events, and becoming a parent is one of the most significant examples of that.”
Kelly concluded, “We are really striving to be industry leaders in this space, and, to this end, I am very pleased to announce this increase in our family leave.”
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