Amazon is pouring more cash into the UK with plans to open another national distribution centre in the country—the online retail giant's 13th warehouse in Britain—which brings with it 1,500 new "permanent" jobs.

The latest site will be at Tilbury, based on the Thames Estuary just outside London, and is expected to open in 2017.

Amazon claimed the pay would be "competitive" with employees earning up to £9 per hour—once they've worked at the site for at least two years. There's no word on what new starters at the firm will be paid, though staff are given stock grants which work out to a value of around £1,000 per year.

The London Living Wage—the salary someone needs to take home to sustain the basic cost of living in the capital—is currently £9.40 per hour, while the rate for the rest of the UK is £8.25.

Amazon has come under fire in recent years for its employment practices around the world, and in the UK. A Daily Mail investigation in 2013 found employees yoked to controversial zero-hours contracts, with timed toilet breaks, and forced to wear monitoring devices to track their movements. Amazon staff, who are often hired through third-party agencies, can be expected to walk up to 15 miles per shift, with minimal breaks.

Amazon says that its warehouse employees receive "a comprehensive benefits package, including private medical insurance, a company pension plan, life assurance, income protection, subsidised meals, and an employee discount."

The distribution centre will be fitted with a new generation of Amazon robots, which the company claims take pressure off staff and can allow for 50 percent more items to be stowed per square foot.

Amazon currently operates 10 fulfilment centres in the UK, with two more set to be completed before the Tilbury site opens in 2017. By the time its expansion plans finish, it expects to employ 15,500 permanent employees in the UK, including 5,000 at a new London head office also slated to open next year.

The company recently said that the UK's vote to exit the European Union had no effect on its investment plans for the country, describing its strategy as "business as usual."