LONDON, March 18, 2026, 14:04 GMT
Primark will raise hourly pay for more than 27,000 retail workers in Great Britain to at least 13 pounds from April 1 and has widened a trial clothing-repair service to three stores. London staff will earn at least 13.71 pounds an hour. 1
The timing matters. British retailers are pushing pay above a new National Living Wage of 12.71 pounds an hour for workers aged 21 and over from April 1, just as labour costs rise across the sector. Tesco said on Wednesday it would lift pay for store and online fulfilment staff to 13.28 pounds from March 29, while Aldi said last month it would pay at least 13.50 pounds outside London from April. 2
For Primark, the higher wage bill lands against a soft trading backdrop. Owner Associated British Foods said in January that Primark’s like-for-like sales, which compare stores open at least a year, fell 2.7% in the 16 weeks to Jan. 3, and that heavy discounting to clear stock had squeezed margins; Chief Executive George Weston said “tough trading conditions” would continue in the short term. 3
The pay rise itself is simple enough. From April 1, retail assistants in England, Scotland and Wales will earn a minimum of 13 pounds an hour, or 13.71 pounds in London, and Primark said the move would take average hourly increases over the last three years to more than 15%. UK Retail Director Kari Rodgers said “retail becomes a more demanding environment” and the company wanted to reflect “the value they bring every day.” 1
On the customer side, Primark has expanded its partnership with clothing-care company The Seam after a 12-week pilot at Manchester Market Street. The service now runs every Friday until June 5 in Manchester, Bromley in south London and Edinburgh Princes Street. Primark said nearly 90% of appointments in the Manchester trial were pre-booked, with simple repairs such as seam mending and length adjustments offered the same day and more complex work taking up to a week. 4
Vicki Swain, the retailer’s product longevity lead, said the pilot showed demand for “a more simple and accessible solution” to fixing favourite clothes. The Seam chief executive Layla Sargent said bringing repair “directly into store” could help make garment care a more natural part of shopping. 4
The announcements add to a broader reshaping under new Primark Chief Executive Eoin Tonge, appointed on March 5. The retailer said he had already begun a strategy to improve the product offer, sharpen value perception and strengthen digital and marketing capabilities. 5
But there is a catch. A British Retail Consortium survey in February found 84% of retail finance chiefs ranked labour and employment costs among their top three concerns, up from 21% last July, and many said they planned to cut staff hours, freeze recruitment or reduce headcount. 6
Tesco and Aldi have already moved on pay, and Primark is now pairing higher wages with extra store services alongside its low-price model. Primark said it has run more than 730 free repair workshops across nine markets since 2021; whether the added wage bill is matched by steadier sales will become clearer only after the April pay changes take effect. 7
