Aldi said it has strengthened its position as the UK’s best-paying supermarket after announcing increases in hourly pay rates for store workers.
Store assistants will be paid minimum hourly rates of £9.10 nationally and £10.55 inside the M25 from February – rising to £10.41 after three years nationally and £10.89 in London. They previously earned £8.85 and £10.20 respectively.
The new rates are above the voluntary “real” living wage’ rate of £9 an hour nationally and match the £10.55 rate recommended for workers in London.
They are well above the statutory national living wage of £7.83 an hour for adults, which increases to £8.21 in April.
Aldi said its store assistants will also receive an enhanced employer pension contribution.
Aldi UK chief executive Giles Hurley said: “Our store colleagues do a fantastic job every day and the excellent service they provide to customers is a key reason why we are the UK’s fastest-growing supermarket.
“We’re committed to being the best supermarket employer in Britain and this means rewarding our colleagues for the excellent job they do with market-leading rates of pay and opportunities to progress their career at Aldi.”
Aldi has more than 800 stores across the UK and plans to open a further 65 this year, creating around 2,500 jobs.
It said it remains on course to achieve its long-term target of operating 1,200 UK stores by the end of 2025.