Aldi shop staff to receive two pay rises this year

Aldi has announced its second wage increase for floor staff since the new year, as it vies to increase its market share in the UK.

The budget supermarket will pay its store assistants £13.50 per hour from April — just a month after an increase is due to take effect in March.

Staff in London will be paid £14.88. Both rates increase with length of service.

Lidl GB, Waitrose and Sainsbury's all announced above-inflation pay rises for staff earlier this month.

Aldi said the wage increase will benefit 28,000 staff members, and says it makes its entry-level workers the highest paid of all supermarket staff, including its fellow budget chain Lidl.

The legal minimum wage will rise to £12.71 an hour in April 2026. Some employers voluntarily pay a higher rate called the Real Living Wage, which is calculated by the Living Wage Foundation, a charity. The current Real Living Wage is £13.45.

John Lewis shop staff, including those working in Waitrose, will receive a pay rise on 1 April, bringing their hourly rate to £13.25, or £14.80 in London.

Sainsbury's has also announced a pay rise, bringing its rate to £13.23 and £14.54 for London workers.

Lidl staff will be paid £13.45, or £14.80 in London, from 1 March. Until Aldi's announcement of a second wage hike, this made Lidl the highest-paying supermarket in the UK outside of London.

Aldi also claims it is the only major supermarket to offer paid breaks to all staff.

Some business leaders, including supermarket bosses, say minimum wage increases mean they cannot hire more staff.

This is particularly the case for young people looking for their first job, they have argued.

Giles Hurley, the chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said the company knows that "every single member of Team Aldi is fundamental to our success and deserve nothing less".

"Our colleagues work incredibly hard to deliver exceptional value for our customers, and we're rewarding that dedication with the highest pay in the sector."

Both Aldi and Lidl are a growing presence in the highly competitive British supermarket field. Aldi said in January that it plans to open 40 new stores in the UK this year. It currently employs 45,000 people.

The cost of groceries soared following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which pushed up energy prices. Own-brand products, which make up most of the goods on Aldi and Lidl shelves, now make up more than half of everything shoppers buy, by value.