Aldi has said it will become the first UK supermarket to commit to paying all store assistants at least £11 an hour.
The discount retailer, which has more than 40,000 store staff and more than 970 stores in the UK, will also be increasing the rates of pay for thousands of logistics workers by introducing starting salaries of at least £10.90, in line with the Real Living Wage. Aldi workers within the M25 will receive £12.45 an hour.
The salary changes will come into effect from January, 1 2023, and the new £11 rate is more than 15% higher than it was a year ago and is also more than the Real Living Wage set by the Living Wage Foundation. Aldi said it has invested around £81 million into raising pay over the past 12 months as staff struggle with the rising cost of living.
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Around 26,000 store colleagues will benefit from the latest increase, Aldi said. This is the latest in a series of changes as part of Aldi’s store expansion plans, which are set to create over 6,000 new jobs this year to add to the 4,500 permanent roles introduced in 2021.
Giles Hurley, chief executive officer of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “Just as we promise Aldi customers that we will always offer the lowest grocery prices in Britain, we are committed to being the highest-paying supermarket for our colleagues.
“We are incredibly proud of every single member of Team Aldi and are pleased to become the first UK supermarket to pay a minimum of £11 per hour to all store assistants, exceeding the Living Wage Foundation’s recommended real living wage.”
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