Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON:LLOY) has offered its UK staff a minimum pay rise of £2,000, Reuters has reported.
The bank's employees have been offered either a £2,000 pay rise or a 5% salary increase, whichever is greater, up to a maximum of £5,000, Reuters said, citing a notice published by the Unite union to its members.
The pay offer represents a rise next year of 8%-13% for 43,000 staff on lower paid grades.
The offer comes as banking sector companies and staff begin annual pay talks that could see wage bills soar amid a climate of soaring inflation, which at 10.1% is at a 40-year high.
Pay offers below the rate of inflation have led to strikes in a number of industries, including postal workers at Royal Mail (LON:IDSI), rail staff at Network Rail and employees at BT Group (LON:BT) PLC and its Openreach business.
A Lloyds spokesperson told Reuters the pay offer would apply to all Lloyds employees if approved by union members, who will be balloted on the offer this month.
Unite said it recommended members accept the "unprecedented offer", noting it directed higher awards to the lowest paid.
It said the £2,000 increase would represent an average 10% pay rise for staff on lower grades, with staff at higher grades getting a 4% increase.
"The pay offer represents a win for the workforce," said Caren Evans, national officer for Unite.
The bank will also introduce a new minimum full-time salary of £21,200 pounds from April 2023, the Unite notice said.