United Kingdom: BT hands pay rise to non-management staff amid Covid-19 crisis

With demand for telecommunications services having skyrocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic, giant of the UK sector BT has expressed its gratitude to staff by handing a 1.5% pay rise to the majority of its workforce, effective from 1 July. The pay rise goes to 58,000 non-management employees, particularly technicians and call centre workers. Furthermore, BT has promised that none of its employees will lose their jobs over the next three months and that all staff members will still get 100% of their pay, even if they have to self-isolate or are unable to work. Each BT employee will also be given £500 (€570) worth of company shares in June. “I have been extremely proud of the commitment shown by BT colleagues to support our customers in the last few weeks and want to recognise that. This is an unprecedented situation and I want to give our people some certainty about the months ahead,” says Philip Jansen, chief executive at BT. The group’s CEO, who tested positive for coronavirus, has also decided to pay his wages for the next six months – £550,000 (€627,000) – to the company as well as the UK’s National Health Service. Meanwhile, in order to keep a lid on costs, BT will not be giving its managers pay rises this year. The group will also not be making use of the government scheme recently put in place to cover the majority of wages of employees unable to work during the pandemic (see article n°11747). The measures will be reviewed in three months’ time.