Aldi is increasing its workers’ pay for the third time this year with a new minimum wage of £11 an hour, putting it back at the top of the supermarket pay league.
The UK’s fourth biggest grocer is increasing pay by 50p. an hour, or nearly 5%, of about 26,000 workers since January, announcing the increase just over a month after its last increase in September, when the hourly rate for store workers increased 40 p. minimum £10.50 an hour. Workers on the M25 motorway around London will see their pay rise to at least £12.45 an hour.
The new rates put Aldi back above Lidl, which increased pay to £10.90 an hour this month. Aldi pays for breaks during shifts, unlike Lidl and many other supermarkets, a benefit worth an extra £871 a year.
Aldi’s new minimum is also higher than the independently verified living wage, which rose to at least £10.90 in September.
Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi’s UK and Ireland business, said: “Just as we promise Aldi customers that we will always offer the lowest grocery prices in Britain, we are committed to being the supermarket better paid for our colleagues.”
Supermarket pay has soared this year as stores compete for staff against other high street, travel and hospitality businesses now that restrictions from the coronavirus pandemic have been eased, in a labor market where supply has been restricted by Brexit worker visa limits.
Several chains have increased pay two or three times this year as they try to keep pace with the rising cost of living to retain experienced staff and attract new hires ahead of the Christmas rush.
Hospitality businesses, including restaurants and hotels, are also being forced to raise wages and, in some cases, limit business hours as they struggle to find enough skilled workers to cope with rising the demand
Aldi is particularly in need of more recruits as it opens about one new store a week and is competing with fellow German-owned discounter Lidl to be Britain’s fastest-growing grocery chain.
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Both are thriving as shoppers shift at least some of their spending away from traditional supermarkets in an effort to cut costs at a time of significant food price inflation.