Pay deal includes move to unpaid tea breaks

A move to unpaid tea breaks has boosted hourly pay rates at wholesaler Makro, in a pay deal backdated to the beginning of July. The basic rate rose by 5.7% from £5.86 to £6.19ph. Sunday premium, shift allowances and location allowances also increased by 5.7%. However, 3.7% of this increase has been self-funded by changes replacing the 15 minute paid tea break with a 15 minute unpaid tea break for anyone working over four hours in a day (the 38-hour contract becoming a 36.75 hour contract and the 75 minutes worth of pay added to the existing basic rate).