Grocery retailer Aldi has raised pay for store assistants to £11.40 per hour nationally, and £12.85 per hour within the M25.
The change in pay will take effect from 1 July 2023, and will benefit more than 28,000 employees, out of a total of 40,000 in the UK.
Aldi has made an investment of over £100 million into employee pay over the past 12 months, and the £11.40 pay rate brings store assistant pay up 13% compared with the previous year.
The rates were introduced at a higher level than the real living wage, which is set by the Living Wage Foundation and stands at £10.90 nationally and £11.95 within the M25.
This followed a series of recent pay increases made by the organisation, including a raise for warehouse staff in January, distribution centre staff in August 2022, and a previous raise for store assistants announced in October last year.
Aldi also pays store employees for their breaks, which amounts to an additional £927 annually.
Giles Hurley, chief executive officer of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “We believe our colleagues are the best in the sector and we are committed to ensuring they are also the best paid.
“We are incredibly proud of every single member of Team Aldi and are pleased to become the first UK supermarket to pay a minimum of £11.40 per hour to all store assistants.”