New £10.50/£9.50 minimum wage is effective beginning this 1 November

New £10.50/£9.50 minimum wage includes associates employed by temp agencies

More than 17,000 Amazon employees, as well as more than 20,000 seasonal holiday employees, and their families will benefit from the new, higher pay

Amazon announced it is increasing its minimum wage to £10.50 for the London area and £9.50 for the rest of the UK for all full-time, part-time, temporary (including those hired by agencies), and seasonal employees—effective November 1. The new Amazon £10.50/£9.50 minimum wage will benefit more than 17,000 Amazon employees, as well as over 20,000 seasonal employees who will be hired at Amazon sites across the country this festive season.

“We’re excited to announce Amazon is raising our minimum wage for all full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary UK employees—effective November 1,” said Doug Gurr, Amazon VP and UK Country Manager. “This will impact more than 37,000 employees across the country, resulting in higher pay for them and their families.”

Employees will continue to receive Amazon’s industry-leading benefits, including:

  • Comprehensive benefits package, including private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection
  • Paid breaks
  • Company pension plan
  • Career Choice, an innovative programme that provides funding for adult education, offering to pre-pay 95% of tuition and associated fees for nationally recognised courses
  • Career Skills, which trains hourly associates in critical job skills like resume writing, how to communicate effectively, and computer basics.

Amazon was named one of the top UK companies for both attracting and retaining talent, according to LinkedIn’s 2018 Top Attractors list. Amazon was also named the Most Popular Graduate Recruiter in Retail Award at the UK Target Jobs Graduate Awards 2018. Learn more about working at Amazon.

Does this apply to Whole Foods and your other subsidiaries?
Yes. The new Amazon £10.50/£9.50 minimum wage applies to all UK employees at Amazon and its subsidiaries.

Is anything changing with Amazon’s RSU program?
Yes, we’ve heard from our hourly fulfillment and customer service employees that they prefer the predictability and immediacy of cash to RSUs. We will be phasing out the RSU grant program for stock which would vest in 2020 and 2021 for this group of employees. Before the end of 2019, we plan on announcing a Direct Stock Purchase Program. The net effect of this change and the new higher cash compensation is significantly more total compensation for employees, without any vesting requirements, and with more predictability.

Is it required to hit any incentive targets in order to get the £10.50/£9.50 minimum wage?
No, the £10.50/£9.50 will be a simple minimum with no targets required.

Are any health care or other benefits also changing?
No, Amazon’s industry-leading benefits package is not changing. We will continue to provide a comprehensive benefits package, paid breaks, a company pension plan, and Career Choice, which pre-pays 95% of associates’ tuition for courses in high-demand fields, whether those jobs are at Amazon or another company.

What about Amazon’s hourly Operations and Customer Service employees who are already making £10.50/£9.50? Will they see an increase?
All of Amazon’s hourly Operations and Customer Service employees will see an increase, including those who are already making £10.50/£9.50.

Will this be reflected in your quarterly earnings report?
Yes – the effect of this additional expense will be incorporated into our earnings guidance.