Paying a Euro cheque into a UK bank account - Germany

Hoping someone can give me a little advice.
My other half has been sent her final paycheque from her company on the continent (we are now back in the UK) and of course, it's in Euros.
We took this to the bank and they wanted 5% of the total of the cheque for changing it over into pounds, not to mention they said it could take as long as two weeks!
It's the 5% which made me really angry however. Does anyone know any way to cash this cheque cheaper? Or is 5% of the cheque total what we could expect to pay everywhere?

Why not talk to the company and ask them to transfer it directly to your partner's UK bank account? You can even send the cheque back to them, if it would make them feel more at ease.

I had the same problem in my home country - I visited different banks and the conditions slightly differed, with the provison ranging from 3-5% and the processing time of 4-8 weeks. And when I was ready to wait, I wnt to one more bank and got the money on the spot. They charged 3% provision as well, but I think that's inevitable. I have no idea how it works in the UK, but if you haven't done it so far, you could also check whether the provision is same for all the banks or send the cheque back, as proposed.

Well, if time isn't an issue open a Euro account with e.g. Barclay's (you have to have an existing, or open a, sterling account to pair it with mind you, but its free). You can then pay the cheque into the euro account and subsequently transfer it to the stirling account - for free (i.e. no comission) and at the actual exchange rate (not the buy/sell tourist rip-off rate where you will further lose out).

Other banks may also offer euro accounts but I only have experience of Barclay's.

Bank transfer. Who uses cheques these days?