London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 22, 2026

Cost of living: Lloyds offers staff a one-off £1,000 payment to help with bills

Cost of living: Lloyds offers staff a one-off £1,000 payment to help with bills

Only executives and senior management will be exempt from the payment being offered to staff in August by Lloyds Banking Group.
Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) has offered tens of thousands of staff a one-off payment of £1,000 to help with the rising cost of living.

The country's largest domestic lender said the money would be made available in August, according to a memo seen by Sky News.

It is understood that executives and senior managers would be exempt.

Lloyds had come under pressure to help its lowest-paid workers cope with rocketing inflation, with Unite demonstrating outside its annual general meeting in Edinburgh in May following a vote among its members that rejected the company's pay offer.

The union argued then that Lloyds had rewarded shareholders through dividend payments on the back of record profits but had ignored the needs of bank branch and call centre staff.

It hit out after a survey it carried out found some workers complain they would not be able to sufficiently heat their homes following unprecedented hikes to energy bills.

Others, Unite said, were sacrificing their future retirement plans by stopping pension contributions in the face of mounting inflation - currently at a 40-year high.

The campaign at Lloyds is part of a wider union fight for pay rises in line with the rate of inflation to offset the cost of living crisis. This is evident through the prospect of the biggest rail strike since 1989.

However, the prospect of such awards has alarmed the Bank of England as it frets that high pay awards only fuel inflation in the longer term.

It is understood that 64,182 members of staff across the group - 99.5% of the workforce - will benefit from the payment.

The memo to staff read: "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 even further.

"With that in mind, I wanted to let you know we'll be making a one-off payment of £1,000 to all our people in grades A - G which you'll receive in your August pay.

"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."

Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary, responded: "Unite members' collective action has put desperately needed money into the pockets of staff on the front line.

"This victory for Unite's 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."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Andy Burnham Reaffirms UK Net-Zero Target With £30 Million Community Energy Fund
Scottish Labour Leader Backs Rosebank and Jackdaw North Sea Projects
UK Consumer Confidence Falls to Three-Year Low
UK Diesel Prices Approach £2 a Litre as Global Supply Shortages Intensify
Chiltern Railways Returns to Public Ownership as UK Rail Nationalisation Advances
British Museum Faces Questions Over Peter Thiel’s Private Bayeux Tapestry Viewing
Earl Spencer Memoir Excerpts Renew Public Debate Over Diana’s Death
Liberal Democrats Gather in Brighton for Autumn Conference
Mothercare Shares Plunge as Middle East Store Closures Threaten Long-Term Solvency
Kent Police Treat Folkestone Hotel Fire as Suspicious
Caribbean Governments Advance Reparations Campaign Seeking Engagement With Britain
Scottish Labour Leader Backs Rosebank and Jackdaw North Sea Projects
FCA Urges Young Adults to Trace £1.5 Billion in Unclaimed Child Trust Funds
UK Competition Regulator Opens Inquiry Into McCormick-Unilever Foods Deal
Public Inquiry Into Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys Mental Health Failings Set to Begin
Nigel Farage Looks to US Immigration Enforcement Model for UK Border Policy
Chiltern Railways Moves Into Public Ownership
Security Review Raises Concerns Over Sensitive UK Police Data Stored on Microsoft Cloud
Burnham Government Warns of Difficult Autumn Budget as Fiscal Headroom Narrows
Bank of England Holds Rates at 3.75% as Inflation Rises to 3.1%
Ed Sheeran Tour Faces Backlash After Macklemore Is Removed Over Pro-Palestinian Remarks
Vandalism of Traffic Cameras Intensifies Across Parts of England
Nearly 300 Evacuated as Fire Hits Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone
King Charles Warns AI Executives About Risks From Uncontrolled Technology
Church of England Apologises for Role in Historical Forced Adoption Practices
UK Debate Over Online Speech Intensifies After Arrest Figures Draw Scrutiny
Oxfordshire Village Holds Symbolic Independence Vote Over Asylum Accommodation Plan
Nigel Farage and Richard Tice Sue National Crime Agency Over Alleged Banking Data Leaks
Apple Introduces Stricter Age Checks for UK Accounts
BBC Cash Reserves Fall 66% to £125 Million as Broadcaster Restructures
McLaren Announces £500 Million UK Investment and Plans 1,000 Jobs
Green Party Wins Historic Gorton and Denton By-Election as Labour Falls to Third
Burnham Government Prepares October Budget Under Growing Fiscal Pressure
UK Energy Suppliers Pull Fixed-Price Deals as Wholesale Markets Turn More Volatile
Bank of England Holds Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Energy Shock Raises Inflation Risks
Addison Lee Founder Loses £20 Million UK Tax Tribunal Case
BrewDog Creditors Face Losses on About £190 Million of Debt
Harrods Seeks to Recover Abuse Compensation Costs From Mohamed Al Fayed’s Estate
Ed Davey Targets Reform UK as Liberal Democrat Conference Opens
Great Britain Retail Sales Rise 0.5% in August
NHS England Approves Life-Extending Treatment for Incurable Breast Cancer
Proposals to Limit NHS ADHD Diagnoses Draw Criticism From Patient Groups
Resolution Foundation Warns of Housing Cost Crunch for Low-Income UK Families
BBC Cash Reserves Fall to Decade Low as Annual Deficit Reaches £121 Million
Millisecond Software Error Triggered Major UK Air Traffic Control Disruption
Twenty Women Underwent Unnecessary Mastectomies During NHS Cancer Care
Sensitive UK Police Data Found Vulnerable to Access by Foreign Actors
British Steel Faces Renewed Pressure for a Long-Term Financial Plan
MPs Urge Government to End Thames Water Restructuring Talks With U.S. Hedge Funds
Andy Burnham Warns of Difficult UK Budget Choices as Inflation Returns to 3.1%
×