Lidl UK is to introduce the living wage from 1 October 2015.
The supermarket will pay its 17,000 employees staff a minimum of £8.20 an hour, and £9.35 in London. These are the hourly rates it expects the Living Wage Foundation to recommend when it recalculates its voluntary living wage rates in November 2015.
The supermarket has also pledged to meet the new rates recommended by the Living Wage Foundation in November should these be higher than the £8.20 and £9.35 hourly rates it has committed to paying employees from October.
Lidl’s commitment represents a £9 million investment in its employees. The move will benefit 53% of its UK workforce across all age brackets, increasing the average wage for staff at the supermarket by £1,200 a year.
Ronny Gottschlich (pictured), chief executive officer at Lidl UK, said: “At Lidl UK, we are proud of our achievements, proud of our growth, and proud of our unwavering commitment to our customers and quality products, but most of all we are proud of our employees who make everything possible.
“We recognise that every employee forms an integral part of team Lidl, and each individual’s contribution is valued. It’s therefore only right that we show our commitment, in the same way that the team commit to the business and our customers each and every day, by ensuring a wage that supports the cost of living.”
The Living Wage Foundation’s recommended rate is independently calculated to reflect the cost of living in the UK. It is currently set at £7.85 an hour, and £9.15 in London. It is a voluntary rate, distinct from the national living wage announced by Chancellor George Osborne in the Summer Budget 2015. The national living wage of £7.20 is a statutory rate for workers aged 25 and over. It will come into effect in April 2016.