Paul UK, the café and bakery group, is adopting the national living wage from the start of November with a starting hourly wage beginning at £7.20.
The group will pay up to £8.90 an hour for team members with supervisors earning up to £9.60 ahead of the mandatory minimum coming in next April.
Jean Michel Orieux, chief executive of Paul UK said: “We see the introduction of this increase as extremely positive and are pleased to be one of the first companies in the UK to adopt it. Anything that encourages people to take up a career in the hospitality industry can only be a good thing. By paying the April rate ahead of many other hospitality businesses, we are showing our commitment to our existing employees and are confident this will attract new people to the business”.
The group has said it plans to open seven sites over the coming year including a second site in Birmingham. Over the past year it has grown its estate by five units including a second restaurant in London and bakeries in Birmingham and Newbury as well as London.
Paul UK recently reported a 13.7% like-for-like rise in revenue for 2014 and turnover growth of 3.6% to £24.6m.
