Tesco colleagues are set to share a £134m windfall, which was created by the strong growth in the supermarket’s share price.

As part of the Save as You Earn colleague scheme where workers can buy shares at the reduced price of either £1.82 for the three-year plan or £1.98 for the five-year option, which will be invested as savings.

The Tesco staff members can retain their shares in the longer term or sell some or all of them.

The retailer estimates that employees who invested a maximum of £500 per month into the share savings scheme could make a personal profit of up to £29,374 from the three-year scheme and a £42,576 profit from the five-year scheme.

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Emma Taylor, Tesco’s chief people officer, said: “Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and when we succeed, we want our colleagues to share in that success.

“Our frontline colleagues deliver for customers every single day, and we are delighted that our Save as you Earn scheme is providing a really tangible reward for all their hard work, commitment and loyalty.”

This year’s windfall was due to strong share gains within recent years, with Tesco’s share price going up by more than 26 per cent within the past twelve months.

The move is part of the grocer’s mission to invest in its employee benefits, highlighting additional policies such as a virtual GP service for workers and their families as well as an enhanced Employee Assistance Programme for mental health support.