Starbucks Canada adds to its total benefits package with commitment to paying above minimum wage

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Starbucks has always believed in being a different kind of company – guided by Our Mission to inspire and nurture the human spirit. &nbsp;For nearly 50 years, Starbucks has been putting partner (employee) care at the centre of everything it does and has continued to invest in and share its success with partners.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Recently, the company raised wages for all its hourly partners by at least 5% - the most significant investment in retail hourly pay in Starbucks Canada’s history - and has committed to paying partners above minimum wage across the country.

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“Starbucks is proud to recognize the work of the more than 19,000 partners who wear the green apron every day,” says Lori Digulla, senior vice president and general manager for Starbucks Canada.&nbsp; “This past year has forever changed us. We changed some plans, put other plans on hold and made some very difficult decisions. But what will always remain true at Starbucks is our commitment to sharing our success with our partners.”

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The retail wage increases are a significant step in the company’s multi-year aspiration to make meaningful investments in&nbsp;pay&nbsp;and partner&nbsp;care. The changes took effect as of May 31, 2021 and offer at least a 5% increase for all baristas, shift supervisors and café attendants, and increase the&nbsp;starting hourly rate&nbsp;for partners to&nbsp;$0.25 above&nbsp;provincial&nbsp;minimum wages.&nbsp; 

Starbucks has long held the belief that partners deserve competitive wages plus leading benefits that support their total wellbeing.&nbsp;&nbsp; All partners, even on their first day as a barista, are entitled to many of the supports and perks Starbucks offers such as free coffee or tea each week, free beverages on shift, a 30% partner discount, free Headspace app subscriptions, free access to LifeWorks and more. Additionally,&nbsp; all Starbucks partners who work a minimum of 20 hour per week are entitled to the company’s vast array of benefits and perks including comprehensive medical and dental coverage, $5,000 mental health benefit, up to $1,000 in tuition reimbursement per year, RRSP Future Savings Plan, shares in the company through annual Beanstock grants and more.

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In maintaining the company’s commitment, Starbucks continues to invest in its wide-ranging <a href="https://stories.starbucks.ca/en/stories/2020/navigating-through-covid-19/">COVID-19 safety measures and supports </a>&nbsp;like paid time-off to all store partners to get the COVID-19 vaccine, COVID-19 Sick Day Pay, Vaccine Side Effect Pay&nbsp;and Self-Isolation Pay.&nbsp;

Starbucks Canada adds to its total benefits package with commitment to paying above minimum wage

Starbucks strengthens partner care with most significant investment in hourly wages - Starbucks Canada

Starbucks Canada

Starbucks strengthens partner care with most significant investment in hourly wages

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https://stories.starbucks.ca/en-ca/stories/2021/starbucks-strengthens-partner-care-with-most-significant-investment-in-hourly-wages/

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In a letter to partners (employees) today, Starbucks Canada general manager, Lori Digulla reaffirms commitment to Partner Care and confirms continued investment in hourly partner wages including annual increases of 3% and stock grants in 2021.

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Every success, every ounce of progress, every positive moment we’ve experienced navigating this pandemic is thanks to our commitment to our Mission to inspire and nurture the human spirit. We’re getting through the challenge of a lifetime because we are working together, in service of each other, our customers and our communities. It hasn’t been easy and it hasn’t been perfect, but it has been remarkable with so much to be proud of. &nbsp;Thank you! And you have my commitment to keep supporting you every step of the way.

The truth is we’re still very much rebuilding our business with continued changes ahead to adapt to and overcome. But one thing that will always be true is we will be 100% committed to our Mission, and partner care and safety will always be at the heart of all our decisions. This pandemic has brought some of the biggest challenges any of us have faced, personally and professionally, but there is so much support available to you now, with more coming, that I want to be sure you know about.

We have always offered leading benefits and support for partners, and we looked for more and new ways to support you from the very start of the pandemic including comprehensive safety protocols and modified operations; multiple pay supports from March through October like Catastrophe Pay, Service Pay, COVID-19 Partner Care pay, COVID-19 leave options; and millions of dollars issued in CUP Fund grants. Importantly, months of closing and reopening stores limited hours worked so we also decreased eligibility hours to ensure benefits-enrolled partners would continue to qualify for benefits.

We sometimes hear that partners are not fully aware of everything available to them so we are re-publishing links and have created a quick reference infographic to capture all the benefits and supports that are available to you – financial, mental, physical, emotional and so much more. Please make some time to explore everything we have to support you and your families. We continue to assess, add and adjust our full package of support to ensure the most valuable and relevant resources are available to you, including some that you have told us are game-changers for you like our mental health benefits, tuition reimbursement, LifeWorks and enhanced resources committed to internal talent advancement and opportunity coming later this year.

In addition to leading benefits we offer competitive pay. We’ve increased scheduled hours and we continue to work hard to build our business back up, to provide more hours that can further increase your earnings. Despite the fact that we are still rebuilding our business, &nbsp;I’m happy to share that we’ve made the important decisions to proceed with a 3% annual wage increase for all hourly partners in 2021 which exceeds inflation and what we know most Canadian companies are planning; and we will maintain our pay differential for shift supervisors as we continue to invest in these partners and attract and reward our best baristas to this important role. &nbsp;More information will be available next month as we prepare for these increases to take effect in January (increase dates remain the same, happening every 6 months, and tied to your anniversary date).

I’m proud to share Starbucks U.S. is also invested in supporting partners by increasing wages for hourly partners. In Canada, we’ve made investments to increase minimum wage by up to 35% over the last five years. At Starbucks, we have a multi-year aspiration to make meaningful investments in pay. It will require all of us, working together, to rebuild and grow our business, so that we all can continue to share in our success.

In addition to the wage increase, we are maintaining our <a href="https://departments.starbucks.com/sites/stock/en-us/beanstock/Pages/beanstock.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bean Stock</a> grants, which are a significant investment in your future financial stabililty. Bean Stock grants are what make us “partners”, and later this month we will announce this year’s grant to our eligible baristas and shift supervisors. In FY19 baristas received grants of $600 USD and shift supervisors received grants of $875 USD. When you receive your Bean Stock grant, you are automatically set-up with a Fidelity account and will need to go to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.netbenefits.com/" target="_blank">Fidelity NetBenefits</a> to: <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://workplaceservices.fidelity.com/bin-public/070_NB_SPS_Pages/documents/dcl/shared/StockPlanServices/SPS_INTL_ActivateInstructions.pdf" target="_blank">Open your account</a>&nbsp; and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://workplaceservices.fidelity.com/bin-public/070_NB_SPS_Pages/documents/dcl/shared/StockPlanServices/SPS_OGA_INTL_ACCEPT_GRANT.pdf" target="_blank">View and accept your grant</a>.

Compensation is important, but it’s critical that you are, and feel, safe at work. Everything we learned and reimagined since we entered this pandemic has prepared us to navigate what may come. We’re confident and ready to face the challenges ahead together, because we have the operations models, protocols and tools to run our stores safely for partners and customers. We will stay vigilant and flexible&nbsp;to adjust store operations as we need to, store by store and community by community while we maintain all the best-in-class&nbsp;control measures we have in place.

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Partners, I am so very proud of our team and how we live our Mission every day, with a smile, bringing hope to each other and millions of customers every week. This is how we will get through our toughest challenges, and I have every confidence we will continue to lead through this to emerge even stronger, and even more committed to each other, our customers and communities, together.

Behind the Green Apron: Our Sustained Commitment to Partner Care

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https://stories.starbucks.ca/en-ca/stories/2020/behind-the-green-apron-our-sustained-commitment-to-partner-care/