Lidl is to start paying its London entry level staff £13.55 an hour, after its third pay rise in the past year.
The discount supermarket upped its pay for entry-level employees within the M25 from £12.85 to £13.55 today. For those based outside of London, pay will rise from £11.40 to £12.00.
Depending on length of service, Londoners can earn as much as £13.85 an hour.
The increase will cost Lidl £37 million.
Under the new pay levels, a Lidl entry-level employee working 40 hours a week for 46 weeks would make just under £25,000 a year.
Lidl said the move means it staff will “receive the highest rates of pay in the sector”. Rival Aldi claims that the comparison is misleading because its own pay also covers breaks.
Ryan McDonnell, CEO at Lidl GB, said: “Customers are switching to Lidl from every other supermarket, and it’s our colleagues’ commitment and performance that is making this happen. It’s only right, therefore, that we thank them 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, said: “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 has seen its market share grow steadily in recent years, as customers turn to discount supermarkets amid the rising cost of living. During the 12 weeks to Christmas Day last year, Lidl held a 7.7% share of the grocery market, up from 7.2% last year.
