Lidl GB said it would raise hourly pay for its store and warehouse workers to up to £13.85 (€16.2) in London and up to £13 in the rest of the country from March, which it said was the highest in the supermarket sector.
The British arm of the German supermarket chain said the increase – the third in the last 12 months – represented an investment of more than £37 million (€43.3 million).
Lidl said its new entry level rates would be up to 17% higher than the national minimum wage, which will rise to £11.44 an hour from April for workers over 21 years old.
Other Initiatives
Moreover, the discounter will introduce a bank holiday premium of £2.00 per hour and will raise its nightshift premium to £3.50 per hour, while also extending the timeframe in which it is payable by one hour.
Ryan McDonnell, CEO at Lidl GB, commented, “Customers are switching to Lidl from every other supermarket, and it’s our colleagues’ commitment and performance that is making this happen.
“It’s only right, therefore, that we thank them for their incredible work and reward them for their efforts. Investing in our people is vital as we set our sights further on increasing our market share and bringing our high quality, great value products to even more households.”
Stephanie Rogers, chief human resources officer at Lidl GB added, “Offering competitive pay and being a great place to work for our colleagues is crucial to our success. This has always been central to our strategy, ever since opening our doors almost 30 years ago.”
Sainsbury's, Britain's second largest supermarket, said earlier this month it would raise pay to £13.15 an hour in London and £12 an hour outside London from March.
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM.
