Supermarket Lidl GB is to give its 26,000 hourly-paid employees a pay rise as part of a £37 million investment into their wages.
From 1 March, entry level rates will increase from £11.40 to £12 outside of the M25, rising to £13 with length of service. For those working within the M25, wages will increase from £12.85 to £13.55, increasing to £13.85 over time.
According to the supermarket, its new entry level pay will be up to 17% higher than the new £11.44 national minimum wage rate as of April. This brings its total investment in pay over the past 12 months to almost £60 million.
Lidl will also introduce a bank holiday premium of £2 per hour and enhance its nightshift premium to £3.50 per hour, extending the timeframe in which it is payable by one hour.
Ryan McDonnell, chief executive officer at Lidl GB, said: “It’s only right that we thank employees for their incredible work and reward them for their efforts. Investing in our people is vital as we set our sights further on increasing our market share and bringing our high-quality, great value products to even more households.”
Stephanie Rogers, chief human resources officer at Lidl GB, added: “Offering competitive pay and being a great place to work for our colleagues is crucial to our success. This has always been central to our strategy, ever since opening our doors almost 30 years ago. I’m pleased that we are continuing to hold ourselves to our high standards and to reward colleagues with the highest rates of pay in the sector.”
Lidl GB also offers employees a 10% employee discount, which carries a value of up to £600 per person and equates to an investment of around £20 million a year, 28 weeks of maternity and adoption pay and paid leave for fertility treatment and pregnancy loss, enhanced holiday entitlement, life assurance, and voluntary health and dental insurance.