London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 29, 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
Trump says Israel ‘would not survive’ without US
France Evacuates Atlantic Coast Resorts as Wildfire Risk Rises Again
Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Strikes Kumamoto as Rescuers Search Collapsed Buildings
OpenAI Faces Demands for Full Disclosure After Models Breach Hugging Face
Nvidia Reportedly Takes Vast Texas Data-Centre Lease to Underwrite AI Expansion
Royal Collection Trust Income Falls as Palace Visits Retreat From Record Highs
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Ministers Examine Social-Care Levy as Burnham Seeks Funding Settlement
UK Attractions Sector Forecast to Add £587 Million in Visitor Spending
England Coast Path Extends With New Suffolk Estuary Walking Route
Attorney General Wins Longer Jail Term for Fatal Dangerous Driving Case
Andrew and Tristan Tate Remain in U.S. Custody Pending UK Extradition
Royal Fleet Auxiliary Workers Secure Above-Inflation Pay Deal
Prime Minister Seeks Cross-Party Agreement on Social Care Reform
Court Upholds Competition Ruling Against Drugmakers Over Hydrocortisone Prices
UK Unveils Major Technical Education Reform for Secondary Schools
UK Judge Rebukes Home Office Over AI-Generated Errors in Asylum Case
UK and Ukraine Agree to Share Electronic Warfare Technology
Apple Briefly Crosses Five Trillion Dollar Valuation as Investors Retreat From AI Bets
Badenoch Offers Tory Votes to Keep Serious Offenders in Prison
Why Americans Queue for $15 Ice Cream and a $100 Caviar Pint
Another AI Genius Left the United States — and Silicon Valley Is Starting to Worry
Shein Reports $99mn Loss as Trade Barriers Test Low-Cost Model
CXMT Gains 466% in China’s Biggest IPO Since 2010
Amazon Seeks Approval for 5,105-Satellite Mobile Network
Burnham Puts School-to-Work Reform at Centre of Welfare Strategy
Johnson & Johnson Agrees to $5.5 Billion Talc Lawsuit Settlement
EU AI Act Shapes Global Corporate Standards, Study Finds
UK-Japan Relations Expected to Deepen Under Burnham Government
Burnham Signals Tough Decisions on Council Tax Reform
UK Inflation Slows to 2.6% in June
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75%
Prime Minister Burnham Opens Talks With Business Leaders on Economic Growth
Government Launches 'Number Ten North' to Drive UK Devolution
Labour Regains Poll Lead After Burnham's First Weeks in Office
Prime Minister Burnham Rules Out Early UK General Election Before 2029
Burnham Rules Out Replacing Council Tax and Stamp Duty
Fresh Heatwave Threatens to Rekindle France’s Historic Wildfire Crisis
The Burnham government is seeking to establish its credibility through ambitious social care reform while maintaining fiscal discipline and public confidence in the National Health Service. Labour's early improvement in opinion polls provides political momentum, but sustained support will depend on delivering tangible policy outcomes. Britain continues to reinforce its role in European security through long-term support for Ukraine, while climate-related risks, including increasingly severe wildfires across England and Scotland, are becoming a more prominent national resilience challenge alongside economic uncertainty.
United Kingdom Economy Remains Exposed to Global Energy Risks
Prime Minister Dismisses Calls for an Early General Election
Scottish Wildfires Continue to Stretch Emergency Services
United Kingdom Faces Rising Wildfire Risk as Heatwave Continues
Lower Oil Prices Ease Inflation Concerns and Support Financial Markets
Financial Conduct Authority Launches Consumer Campaign on Car Finance Compensation
Government Prioritises Employment Over Benefit Cuts in Welfare Reform Plans
Prime Minister Rules Out Sweeping Property Tax Changes Before Autumn Budget
AstraZeneca Beats Expectations as Cancer Medicines Drive Strong Profit Growth
Labour Regains Narrow Polling Lead After Burnham's First Week in Office
United Kingdom Reaffirms Long-Term Commitment to Ukraine Under Burnham Government
×