Aldi steals title of highest-paying supermarket in the UK
Aldi has just overtaken Lidl as the highest-paying supermarket in the UK. Where do we sign up?
Credit: Mike Mozart - Flickr
As if we couldn’t already love these German budget supermarkets enough for waltzing into our lives and shaking up the sector with their crazy low food prices.
But now, both Aldi and Lidl are going one step further, earning a firm place in our hearts (and our stomachs) by paying staff more than any other supermarket in the UK.
Some 3,345 UK Aldi employees are about to get a pay rise, as the company plan to raise wages for all store staff comfortably above the National Living Wage of £7.20 an hour (due to increase to £7.50 in March) from 1st February 2017 .
This sees Aldi following in the steps of fellow German discounter, Lidl, who already announced they were doing this back in November. But so far, Aldi are managing to trump Lidl by offering 8p more per hour to staff, and bringing the wage rise into effect one month earlier, as Lidl wages aren't due to go up until March.
We suspect there’s a bit of a battle to be the best boss going on here, but who’s complaining, right?
How much will staff earn?
Credit: Olivia Alcock - Flickr
According to Aldi, all shop floor staff will earn a minimum of £8.53 per hour, which jumps to £9.75 for staff at London branches.
This works out at £1.33 above the current compulsory Living Wage of £7.20 (for over 25s), £1.58 over minimum wage for workers aged 21-25, and a whopping £2.98 above the minimum wage for 18-21 year olds!
This puts Aldi at the top spot as the highest payer where supermarkets are concerned - beating Lidl by 8p an hour (but on a par for London wages).
Matthew Barnes, chief executive officer for Aldi UK, said:
We recognise the valuable contribution that our thousands of store employees make every day. Their dedication and commitment is a key reason why Aldi is the UK’s fastest-growing supermarket.
We employ the best people in retail and invest in their training to enable them to carry out a range of different roles in store.
And Aldi don’t just offer great hourly pay to store staff either - a place on their grad scheme will see you earning £42,000 a year, and £36,000 if you land a place on Lidl's graduate scheme!
Increase your chances of getting a place on the scheme by using our application guide, plus don't forget to check when graduate scheme deadlines are.
