Lloyds Bank to hand £1,000 cost of living payment to employees

Lloyds Bank is to issue a £1,000 payment to employees to help with the ongoing cost of living crisis.

The payment will be made to 64,182 employees or 99.5% of the workforce, but will not apply to senior management. It will be paid to staff this August.

Lloyds also said it would consider the economic climate  during its preparations for its 2023 pay negotiations in the coming weeks.

In an internal email to all employees, the bank said: “As the rising cost of living continues to impact our people and our customers we’ve been assessing the evolving outlook for inflation and considering how we can support you [our employees] even further.

“This support is designed to help you during these uncertain economic times and is in addition to the steps we’ve already taken to increase the support available both to you and our customers.”

Inflation in Britain has now reached 9% - the highest in 40 years - while petrol prices hit a record 185p per litre yesterday (Sunday), and energy prices are set to rise even further in October, when the next energy cap is announced with predictions of a 46% leap taking the largest bills past £2,800.

Lloyds also said it would be boosting resources in its teams to support customers in “financial difficulty” to provide dedicated support and it would continue with financial health checks for bank clients who needed them.

Sharon Graham, general secretary at union Unite that had been fighting for better financial terms for Lloyds employees, said: “Unite members’ collective action has put desperately needed money into the pockets of staff on the front line.

“This victory for Unite’s Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) pay campaign is an important step in changing the bank’s pay structures. Staff will welcome the £1,000 bonus but there is still a long way to go to eradicate low pay in that is one of the economy’s most profitable sectors.”