Law firm Irwin Mitchell will give most staff a £900 one-off payment this month to help them deal with the rising cost of living.
All staff below partner level will receive the payment, which remains separate from any pay reviews or bonus calculations.
The payment is a set amount rather than a percentage of pay, the firm said, to ensure those in the lower pay brackets benefited appropriately.
A spokesperson said: “In light of the challenging external circumstances affecting the cost of living, we’ve taken the decision to make a one-off payment of £900 in April’s salary to most colleagues.
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“We’re making this payment as an acknowledgement of the challenges some colleagues are currently facing from increases in the cost of living, in particular fuel and energy prices.”
Irwin Mitchell’s decision comes as research from Randstad UK found that 45% of employers are considering pushing for a return to remote work so employees can cope with rising fuel prices.
Petrol and diesel pump prices rose 11p and 22p per litre respectively in March, according to the RAC.
These costs have been compounded by inflation reaching 7% in March, its highest since February 1992.
Research by the CIPD also found that one in eight employees felt their pay was not enough to cover living costs, while pay experts at XpertHR predicted that some employers would offer one-off payments on top of their annual pay review, or other types of supplementary payments.
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A number of employers have responded to pressure on workers’ pay in recent weeks. Sainsbury’s announced its second pay rise this year earlier this month after investors urged the supermarket to pay the Real Living Wage.
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