B&Q Increases Hourly Rate Of Pay To £12.71 Per Hour

• B&Q to increase minimum pay by 4.1% to £12.71 per hour, 50p more than the National Living Wage
• £12.71 per hour is one of the highest base national rates of any major UK retailer

Today, B&Q, the leading home improvement and garden living retailer, has announced it will be increasing its UK minimum hourly rate to £12.71 per hour, and its London rate to up to £14.05 per hour.

Starting from April 2025, over 15,000 B&Q colleagues will get an extra 50p per hour – worth over £955.50 more a year for a full-time colleague. The increase will be paid in full from 1^st April and not staggered across the year.  

The new rates are among the highest of all major UK retailers. The minimum rate is well ahead of the UK Government's 2025 National Living Wage (£12.21 per hour), and 11p per hour above the Real Living Wage (£12.60 per hour).

Whilst the government’s minimum wages differ by age, B&Q – as a multigenerational employer – believes everyone deserves the same pay for the work they do regardless of age. B&Q will therefore pay the same minimum hourly rate to all colleagues aged 18 years old and over. This includes apprentices, who receive the same pay as other colleagues doing the same role.

Graham Bell, CEO, B&Q said: “We’re delighted to further recognise the exceptional value, commitment, and performance delivered by our colleagues every day. 

We pride ourselves on having one of the UK retail sector’s most competitive pay positions. We believe rewarding our colleagues fairly is a critical part of delivering growth for our business and continually improving the experience we provide for our customers. We also remain committed to supporting our colleagues’ professional development through our training offering – including our apprenticeship scheme which has already been completed by over 2,000 colleagues.

These initiatives all contribute to our ambition to make B&Q a great place to work with a high-performance culture that delivers for our customers.”   

Colleagues at B&Q are eligible for a number of benefits, including family leave, an award winning pension scheme with up to 14% employer contributions, access to shopping discounts with a number of other retailers and entertainment brands, wellbeing support and a Colleague Support Fund via our Retail Trust partnership, as well as 20% off products sold by B&Q.

Source : B&Q

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