Canongate pays staff subsidy to help with cost-of-living crisis

Canongate has been paying staff a monthly subsidy and has introduced a raft of measures to assist with the cost-of-living crisis.

Employees at the Scottish indie have been paid a monthly subsidy since September 2022, and will continue to receive payments until March 2023, when salaries are reviewed. Employees on less than £36,200 receive £250, while those earning below £50,000 get £100. 

“For Canongate, it was important for us to recognise the impact of the level of inflation and the current uncertainty across the board has on our staff," chief operating office Kate Gibb said. "We asked for input anonymously or otherwise from everyone and from that came up with a set of measures to support our staff, and particularly those on lower salary levels. 

"Our inflation increase is put through annually in May and since then we have of course seen a continuing escalation of the rate."

The company has also introduced easy access to loans for travel tickets and monthly salary advances, as well as lifting the current hybrid arrangements over Christmas. This has been implemented to encourage staff to take advantage of holiday travel before higher transport rates kick in for the festive period. Employees can also request interest-free loans for rental deposits. 

"We will continue to review what we can do to support our staff though these tumultuous times while ensuring we can continue to deliver great books into this market over the long term," Gibb added. 

Earlier this year, staff at Bloomsbury received a 5% pay rise and a 6% bonus following the company’s bumper recent performance, and in recognition of the soaring cost of living. 

The Bookseller recently reported on the growing numbers of publishing staff joining unions, over concerns about the cost of living crisis and the conversation around salaries in the industry. 

Penguin Random House (PRH) and HarperCollins raised their salaries for entry-level roles to more than £26,000 per annum in response to changes in the labour market and to improve diversity, also recognising unprecedented inflation.