Aldi has further raised its starting pay for store assistants to a minimum of £11.40 per hour nationally and £12.85 within the M25. The new £11.40 per hour starting rate, which is effective from July 1, 2023, is more than 13% higher than it was a year ago, it said.
It added that represented an investment of more than £100million in colleague pay in the past 12 months. It said the new rates were higher than the Real Living Wage, set by the Living Wage Foundation, of £10.90 per hour nationally and £11.95 inside the M25.
Aldi also said it was the only supermarket to pay for breaks, which for the average store colleague is worth an additional £927 annually. The announcement follows a series of pay increases, including raising hourly rates for 7,000 warehouse workers across the UK.
Giles Hurley, CEO of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “We believe our colleagues are the best in the sector and we are committed to ensuring they are also the best paid. 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 £11.40 per hour to all store assistants.”
Aldi said it was set to create more than 6,000 new jobs this year, adding to the 4,500 permanent roles created last year. The supermarket, which was named by consumer champion Which? as the UK’s cheapest for 2022, has more than 40,000 colleagues and more than 990 stores in the UK. Anyone interested in applying for a role at Aldi should visit Aldi Recruitment UK to find out more.
