Discount Retail Chain Aldi UK & Ireland (German family owned) is set to reclaim the position of highest-paying supermarket from Lidl based on entry-level rates for store workers.
From 1 January, starting hourly pay for Aldi store workers will increase from £11.95 (US$11.95) to £12.45 (US$14.4) within the M25 and from £10.50 (US$12.1) to £11 (US$12.7) elsewhere in the country. It makes Aldi the first supermarket to pay store workers no less than £11 (US$12.7) an hour.
Aldi said today it would also increase entry-level pay for logistics workers to a minimum £10.90 (US$12.6) an hour, matching the national real living wage, set by the Living Wage Foundation. Lidl and Aldi have been swapping places as the highest-paying supermarket based on starting rates this year, as inflation intensifies competition for labour. The discounters are among a number of supermarkets to have announced two rises earlier in 2022.
Direct competitor Lidl’s latest rise, effective from 1 October, took its national rate to £10.90 (US$12.6), beating Aldi’s current £10.50 (US$12.1). In London the two are currently matched at £11.95 (US$13.8). Lidl’s latest rates apply for both store and warehouse workers. Aldi UK & Ireland CEO Giles Hurley hinted in late September that Lidl’s higher rate for store workers nationally could soon be beaten again, when he promised Aldi would review pay once more before the end of the year. Aldi’s rates rise depending on length of service. From 1 January, longer-serving staff will receive £12.75 (US$14.7) an hour within the M25 and £11.90 (US$13.7) an hour elsewhere in the country.
The supermarket said about 26,000 staff would benefit from the latest increase, which took its investment in pay in the last 12 months to £81m (US$93.5m). The new minimum rates are 15% higher than a year ago. Along with Co-op, Aldi is also one of the few remaining major grocers to offer paid breaks, which it says are worth £871 (US$1,005) a year to the average store worker. “Just as we promise Aldi customers that we will always offer the lowest grocery prices in Britain, we are committed to being the highest-paying supermarket for our colleagues,” said Hurley.
“We are incredibly proud of every single member of Team Aldi, and are pleased to become the first UK supermarket to pay a minimum of £11 (US$12.7) per hour to all store assistants, exceeding the Living Wage Foundation’s recommended real living wage.”
Aldi was named Employer of the Year in the 2022 Grocer Gold awards.
It has more 40,000 staff and 970 stores across the UK, and is set to have created 6,000 new jobs in 2022 with its expansion plans. The business recently said it was looking for 100 area managers, with annual salaries starting from £44,000 (US$50,780) and rising to £81,000 (US$93,480) by the fifth year.
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