Britain's third-largest supermarket group Asda said it would give more than 120,000 store workers an 8.4% pay rise from 1 July, following a similar move by other large British retailers as the government's national minimum wage goes up.
Asda said its hourly rate for retail pay would rise from £11.11 (€13.00) to £12.04 (€14.08) for those outside London and from £12.28 (€14.37) to £13.21 (€15.45) for workers in the capital from 1 July, after a smaller interim increase from April.
Britain's main government-mandated minimum wage rate is due to rise to £11.44 (€13.38) an hour from £10.42 (€12.19) on April 1.
The supermarket group, which was acquired by the billionaire Issa Brothers and private equity firm TDR Capital from Walmart in 2021, said the rate increase would cost £150 million (€175.50).
The Bank of England is keeping a close eye on pay settlements as it assesses whether the inflationary pressure in the British economy has eased enough for it to cut interest rates from their highest level since 2008.
UK's Highest Paying Grocery Retailer
"Asda’s proposed new rates of pay not only exceed the current Real Living Wage but would make us the highest paying grocery retailer in the UK," Hayley Tatum, chief people and corporate affairs officer at Asda, said.
The Real Living Wage is based on a calculation to determine how much workers and their families require to fund everyday needs. It is paid voluntarily by some British businesses.
This week, food and clothing retailer Marks & Spencer announced a 10.1% pay raise for around 40,000 store staff.
Sainsbury's, Aldi, Lidl and Costa Coffee have also announced pay rises for 2024.
In January, the UK retailer received its first external assessment of its ESG strategy, from Sustainable Fitch. It received an entity rating of 3 (where 1 is excellent and 5 is poor) from the ratings agency.
