The discount retailer said the wage increase is above the Living Wage Foundation’s recommended level, which now is a minimal hourly rate of GBP7.85, and GBP9.15 in London.
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Matthew Barnes, Aldi United Kingdom and Ireland CEO, said: “The success of Aldi in the United Kingdom and Ireland has been driven by the commitment, hard work and ambition of our employees and we will continue to maintain our leading position on pay”. Lidl already announced their plans to put wages up, which makes the big guns look even more tight-fisted.
This is ahead of the government’s national living wage of £7.20 an hour and the new higher rate of £8.20 per hour expected to be brought in by the Living Wage Foundation next month.
The company now employs around 28,000 people, and this year opened a 600th United Kingdom store in Cardiff.
Store officials say the new rate is significantly higher than the hourly pay offered by all other British supermarkets and follows significant sustained sales growth and store expansion.
“Their bold move demonstrates that paying the living wage in retail is achievable”.
Lidl’s increase will be an average wage increase of £1,200 per year.
The company also said it is one of the few supermarkets that gives its employees paid breaks.
By 2022, Aldi aims to have 1,000 stores and plans to recruit 35,000 more people.
Aldi’s move means that younger staff working at the supermarket could be earning almost £5 per hour more than minimum wage of £3.87 for workers under the age of 18.
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Obviously that’s not a straightforward indicator of how well-staffed each of their stores are – Tesco and Sainsbury’s have more very large supermarkets, for instance, and there is likely to be variations in typical hours worked per employee.
