One of the UK’s most popular supermarkets has announced plans to increase how much it pays shop staff from next year.
From March, 2021, Lidl will pay new shop floor workers more than £10 per hour. Bosses at the German-owned supermarket said entry-level wages will rise from £9.50 to £10.10 an hour for people based in stores across the UK, however, those working in London will see their hourly rate increase from £10.85 to £11.30.
Longer-serving employees will also see their pay rates rise to £11.40 across the UK and £12.25 in London stores, depending on their length of service.
The budget supermarket claims it means Lidl is now the highest-paying grocery chain in the country, adding that this was in recognition of the hard work of staff during the coronavirus pandemic.
Bosses said the extra £18million spend by the business on the new wages equates to £50million invested in hourly wage increases over the past five years.
It follows a £200 bonus to all frontline workers this year, alongside £150 gift vouchers for all staff in 2020 during the pandemic.
Christian Hartnagel, Lidl GB chief executive, said: "We have ambitious plans to grow our business across Great Britain, and to do that we need to ensure we attract and look after the best talent at every level of our business."
He has targeted 1,000 stores by the end of 2023.
Get the latest money-saving and benefits news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our weekly Money newsletter here.
