Pan Mac joins publishers offering staff cost of living payments

Pan Macmillan has offered all staff except its most senior team a one-off cost of living support payment of £750, similar to other actions recently by the likes of Simon & Schuster, Faber and Canongate. 

A Pan Macmillan spokesperson told The Bookseller: “We paid everyone at Pan Mac except the very senior team a one-off cost of living support payment of £750 in October [and] increased book discounts for colleagues to 75% and reduced the cost of private medical insurance contributions. 

“We brought payday forward to earlier in the month from October and have offered access to online tools to support budgeting. We have also increased our breakfast offering each morning, added more healthy afternoon snacks and a fruit basket each day for our colleagues and we have added free fortnightly lunches in our refectory for all.” 

At Simon & Schuster, staff are being offered a one-off stipend payment this winter, which covers additional expenses and bills incurred while working from home, which has been backdated to March 2020. It has also recently increased starting salaries to £26,000.

In October, Faber paid an additional one-off lump sum to all employees earning below £55,000, in response to inflation. At independent publisher Canongate employees 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.

The Bookseller understands talks will be under way at the Big Four to reveal further assistance for staff in the new year.