Aldi is to give its in-store workers a pay rise in March, as the budget retailer seeks to remain the best-paying supermarket chain for shop floor staff in Britain.
The German multinational, which employs 45,000 people in the UK across 1,020 stores, said it will raise its minimum hourly rate to £12.71, up from £12.40 an hour currently.
Employees in and around London will see their hourly pay rise to at least £14, up from £13.65.
Our colleagues are the best in the business and this latest pay rise reflects our ongoing commitment to ensuring they remain the best paid
The pay increases come after Aldi’s UK boss Giles Hurley signed an open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves warning her about the impact of rising taxes on companies in the October Budget.
Labour is raising national insurance contributions (NICs) for companies as well as increasing the minimum wage they can pay workers.
The NICs increase is designed to help pay for improvements to public services like the NHS, but retailers have criticised it for making it more expensive to hire people.
The national living wage for people aged 21 and over will rise to £12.21 in April, up from £11.44 currently.
The letter said: “We appreciate the Government’s commitment to improving public finances and investing in public services, and we recognise the vital role businesses play in supporting these efforts.
“However, the scale and speed of these new costs create a cumulative burden that will inevitably lead to job losses and higher prices.”
Aldi’s pay increases position it as the best-paying supermarket brand.
Next is Sainsbury’s, which has said it will raise the minimum across the UK to £12.60 in August, followed by Lidl, where store workers get at least £12.40.
Mr Hurley said: “Our colleagues are the best in the business and this latest pay rise reflects our ongoing commitment to ensuring they remain the best paid.
“Every single Aldi colleague plays an absolutely vital role in delivering on our promise to bringing unbeatable Aldi prices to even more customers across the UK.”
Separately, on Monday Aldi lost a trademark battle against Thatchers over its cloudy lemon cider, after the Somerset-based brewer sued the supermarket for infringement.
Last January the High Court in London dismissed Thatchers’ case, with a judge saying there was a low degree of similarity between the products and no likelihood of confusion for consumers.
But in December, Thatchers challenged the ruling at the Court of Appeal, and on Monday three judges allowed the appeal.
An Aldi spokesperson said they were “disappointed” with the ruling and that the company intends to appeal it.
