Lidl GB said today that it would raise hourly pay for its store and warehouse workers in the UK.
In London, hourly pay will be raised to £13.85 (€16.19) per hour, and to £13 (€15.19) in the rest of the country.
The change will take effect in March.
The retailer claimed that this rate of pay is the highest in the supermarket sector.
Lidl Ireland
This comes after a September announcement by Lidl Ireland that they are raising their minimum wage to €14.80 as per the recommended Living Wage.
This is due to be put in place on 1 March 2024.
The retailer was previously the first major nationwide employer to commit to paying the Living Wage in October 2022.
Investment
The British arm of the German chain said the increase – the third in the last 12 months – represents an investment of £37 million.
Lidl also said that its new entry level rates would be up to 17% higher than the national minimum wage.
Minimum wage in the UK for workers over 21 years old is rising to £11.44 (€13.37) per hour in April 2024.
Sainsbury’s said earlier this month that they would raise pay to £13.15 (€15.37) per hour for workers in London and to £12 (€14.02) per hour for the rest of the country.
Living Wage
A Living Wage is “a wage which makes possible a minimum acceptable standard of living.”
It is based on social consensus and calculates the minimum wage required to live in a country or area.
The Living Wage is based on the cost of living, unlike the minimum wage.
As the cost of living has increased in the past few years, the Living Wage has become a benchmark for industries and workers alike.
