Tesco UK: thousands of Yorkshire supermarket staff to share £134m SAYE scheme payout - how it works

• More than 22,000 Tesco staff are set to be eligible to share a £134 million windfall
• Thousands of workers in Yorkshire are expected to benefit
• The payouts come from Tesco’s save-as-you-earn (SAYE) share scheme
• Staff who saved into the scheme monthly could make profits of £5,000 to £8,000
• The news follows a near 25% rise in Tesco’s share price over the past year

Thousands of supermarket workers across Yorkshire could be in line for a share of a £134 million payday, after a bumper year for one of Britain’s biggest employee share schemes.

Retail giant Tesco has confirmed that more than 22,000 staff, most of them working in stores and distribution centres, are eligible for payouts as part of its long-running save-as-you-earn (SAYE) scheme.

With Tesco employing more than 300,000 people nationwide, thousands of those set to benefit will be based in Yorkshire.

How does it work?

Under the scheme, employees agree to save a fixed amount of money each month for either three or five years.

At the end of that period, they can use their savings to buy Tesco shares at a pre-agreed price, set at a discount when they first signed up.

If the company’s share price has risen in the meantime, staff can sell those shares at the higher market rate and pocket the difference.

This year’s payouts have been boosted by strong stock market performance. Tesco’s share price has climbed by nearly 25% over the past 12 months, significantly increasing the value of shares bought through earlier schemes.

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According to the company, workers who saved an average of £91 a month over three years are expected to make a profit of £5,346. Those who put away an average £94 a month over five years could see gains of around £8,004.

Employees can choose to sell their shares immediately and take the cash, or keep some or all of them invested in the hope of further growth.

In total, eligible staff could share up to £134 million, more than four times the £30 million distributed to colleagues last year.

Emma Taylor, Tesco’s chief people officer, said the scheme ensures frontline staff “share in that success” when the business performs well.

For many shop floor workers and warehouse teams, it could amount to a life-changing boost equivalent to several months’ wages in one go, simply for setting aside a modest sum each month.