Aldi has announced plans to match discount rival Lidl in the amounts it pays staff.
The supermarket said store assistants will see their pay hit £10.10 an hour, or £11.55 for staff within the greater London area.
The new salaries will come in from February next year for 28,000 staff and Aldi pointed out it remains the only supermarket to offer paid breaks during shifts.
Bosses say the pay uplift will cost £34 million and exceeds the Living Wage Foundation’s recommended real living wage rates of £9.90 an hour nationally and £11.05 an hour inside the M25.
Chief executive Giles Hurley said: “The commitment and enthusiasm of our colleagues has driven our success over many years, particularly during the last 18 months.
“We want to ensure our colleagues are always fully rewarded for their amazing work.
“These new rates, together with the fact that we are the only supermarket to pay colleagues for breaks taken during their shifts, means we continue to offer the best pay in the supermarket sector.”
The move comes after Lidl announced last month pay rates for new shop floor workers will rise from £9.50 to £10.10 an hour outside London and from £10.85 to £11.30 in the capital from March next year.
Longer-serving Lidl staff will see their pay rates also rise to £11.40 and £12.25 outside and inside London respectively, depending on length of service.
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