Aldi has confirmed a second pay rise this year for roughly 26,000 store workers as Brits continue to grapple against the cost of living crisis.
The supermarket will increase the wages for all hourly paid colleagues by 40p an hour from this September.
Store workers will see their pay rise to £10.50 an hour nationally, or to £11.95 for those working inside the M25.
It means Aldi will become the highest-paying supermarket in the UK once again, after Morrisons confirmed it is upping the pay of its workers outside London to £10.20 an hour from October.
Asda, Tesco and Lidl entry level pay currently stands at £10.10 an hour. You can see how all supermarket pay compares here.
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Giles Hurley, chief executive officer of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “Our new rates of pay maintain Aldi’s position as the UK’s highest paying supermarket.
“This announcement recognises the amazing contribution our colleagues make in serving local communities across the country.
“Their outstanding efforts have ensured that our customers continue to have access to fresh affordable food, every single day.”
Aldi has more than 970 stores across Britain.
The National Living Wage - which is how much companies have to pay by law to those aged 23 or over - is set at £9.50 an hour.
The National Minimum Wage for those of at least school leaving age is £9.18 for those aged 21 to 22, £6.83 for workers aged 18 to 20 and £4.81 for under 18s.
This is separate to the recommended Real Living Wage, which is a voluntary scheme businesses can sign up to and is based on the cost of living.
At the moment, the Real Living Wage is £9.90 an hour nationally and £11.05 inside the M25.
This is set by the Living Wage Foundation and is paid by around 10,000 employers.
Meanwhile, new wage figures released last week showed regular pay, without bonuses, grew 4.3% in the year to March to May 2022.
But once adjusted for soaring inflation, regular pay fell by 2.8% - the steepest drop since records began in 2000.
It inched past the previous record fall of 2.7% in September 2011 - and the worst is yet to come.
CPI inflation hit a new 40-year record of 9.4% in the 12 months to June and is expected to reach as high as 11% later this year.
The news is a hammer blow to UK households, who are grappling with the rising cost of living - and more price hikes are coming.
