Working in a multinational or a large franchise is not always synonymous with bad conditions or having a bad salary. In fact, we recently saw the example of a Primark employee who earned a good salary.
If we talk about IKEA, the leading company in furniture and home decoration, the base salary in Spain is 1,300 euros (including extras and bonuses). It is not a high salary, but compared to other similar jobs, it can be “better than many other places”, according to some workers and stated in the section ‘Magas’ from El Español.
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Is IKEA’s salary in line with the agreements and salaries in the retail sector? What exactly does it consist of (base salary, supplements, extra pay)? To understand the salary earned by someone who works in this furniture company, it is necessary to review official data, testimonials and some example figures.
How much do IKEA employees really earn?
In 2023, the annual base salary for a basic staff position at IKEA was 15,705.65 euros gross, which is equivalent to about 1,308 euros per month if extra pay is prorated, according to HuffPost.
For their part, other employment platforms such as Jooble calculate that the average salary of an IKEA worker in Spain is around 13,536 euros per year, that is, about 1,128 euros per month for full days.
Likewise, Indeed collects opinions from employees who mention salaries of around 1,180 euros per month for entry-level positions, with comments indicating that the salaries are “very low for the effort required.”
These data confirm that the 1,300 euros per month are in the upper range taking into account supplements or extra payments, in regards to workers who do not have any position within the company, such as the latest vacancies that have been published this year.
“I’m not getting rich, but I’m better off than in many places.” With about 1,300 euros per month, an IKEA employee does not ‘make gold’ but he receives an income somewhat higher than that of other basic positions with lower remuneration. At this salary level, the margin for savings or extraordinary expenses remains limited.
Working at IKEA has other benefits
Furthermore, in 2023 IKEA agreed with the unions on an average increase of 6.68% in salary supplements, incorporating improvements from 2024 that place its staff among the best paid within the distribution sector in Spain.
Added to this are the non-salary benefits offered by the company: subsidized dining room, savings and pension plan, variable remuneration and discounts for employees. Therefore, although a worker’s total salary may exceed 1,300 euros per month when these incentives are added, it is still not considered high in absolute terms.
In many reviews posted on Indeed, employees agree that although the work environment may be “good,” “the workload is intense” and the salaries “do not fully compensate for the physical effort or rotating shift.”
Another recent criticism points out that, although IKEA has announced salary increases in the United Kingdom and Ireland, it does not currently contemplate similar increases in Spain, which generates concern among its employees.
Collective bargaining plays a central role: the department store agreement regulates key aspects of salary and benefits, so increases or improvements depend on the agreements reached with the unions.
If you aspire to promotions (as coordinator, technician or section head), salaries can greatly exceed these figures, with 1,300 euros being just the starting point in those cases.