Time to stop calling workers heroes and pay staff for their professionalism

EG Group, the petrol station operator, is giving its workers a 5 per cent rise. The founding Issa Brothers hailed their ‘heroic’ performance during the fuel crisis but heroes aren’t always so lucky, says James Moore

EG Group is handing workers at its forecourts a 5 per cent pay rise (EG/PA)

Our colleagues have pulled out all the stops and been nothing short of heroic during often very difficult times since the start of the pandemic,” said Mohsin and Zuber Issa, co-founders and CEOs of EG Group, the operator of more than 4,500 forecourts around Britain.

The brothers, who also own Asda, were announcing a 5 per cent pay rise for EG’s workers, which is no more than they deserve after what they’ve put up with during the fuel crisis, and which the company can clearly afford. Workers aged over 18 will be on £9.50 an hour as a result.

But the language used in the announcement is problematic, and here’s why. Heroes don’t get paid. At least, they don’t usually get paid. An act of heroism is typically a one-off. It’s used to describe someone doing something incredible, like saving a child from getting hit by a car or tackling a mugger on a dark street or volunteering to help rescue people trapped in some disaster.