Lidl GB today has announced plans to become the highest paying supermarket, increasing the hourly wages for all store and warehouse colleagues.

Entry-level wages will increase from a minimum of £9.50 per hour to a minimum of £10.10 per hour, going up to £11.40. The commitment forms part of a national investment of £18 million – the supermarket’s largest to date.

The discounter has long been committed to increasing wages in line with the cost of living, with a combined investment of over £50 million into hourly wages over the past five years. This latest rise recognises the hard work and dedication of frontline colleagues during the last 18 months of the pandemic and will come into effect from March 2022.

As a result of the increase, Lidl employees will benefit from a minimum of 60p per hour more than the National Living Wage (for over 23s). The commitment also follows a £200 thank-you payment to all front-line workers earlier this year, in recognition of their commitment and dedication throughout the pandemic, as well as a £150 thank you voucher for all employees in 2020. This represented a combined investment of £9.5 million from the business.

Christian Härtnagel, Chief Executive Officer at Lidl GB said:

“At Lidl, our frontline colleagues are the backbone of our business. They have worked tirelessly over the past 18 months of the Covid-19 crisis and are integral to our future success. We have ambitious plans to grow our business across Great Britain, and to do that we need to ensure we attract and look after the best talent at every level of our business.  This year we feel incredibly lucky to be in a position as a business to go even further by making this significant investment in our incredible workforce, which will make us the best paying supermarket in the UK.”

Nan Gibson, Chief HR Officer commented:

“In 2015 we became the first supermarket in the UK to match the rates advocated by the Living Wage Foundation, and we are proud to have consistently increased wages every year since. There is no denying how hard our people work, more so than ever during recent times, and we’re delighted to be able to give our store and distribution centre colleagues the recognition they deserve and look forward to welcoming new colleagues to our teams in the months ahead.”

In addition to its competitive pay rates, Lidl’s benefits package including 10% instore discount, pension scheme and 30-day holiday allowance. Lidl GB also offers extensive training programmes, available for in-store and warehouse colleagues with opportunities to progress careers.

The increase in wages forms part of Lidl’s overall investment strategy to invest £1.3bn in Great Britain in 2021 and 2022, alongside a 1,000 stores target by the end of 2023.  The discounter is interested in securing over 35 new sites in Wales. This includes new stores in Swansea, Cardiff and Hereford.