Supermarket Asda has announced that its hourly-paid store employees will see an 8.4% increase in their pay effective 1 July as part of a £150 million investment.
Its national rate will rise from £11.11 per hour to £12.04 and its rate for stores inside the M25 will increase from £12.28 to £13.21. There will be an interim increase on 1 April to £11.44 for national employees and £12.61 for stores inside the M25, to meet the new national minimum wage.
The new rates will exceed the government’s national living wage, the real living wage and London living wage as recommended by the Living Wage Foundation, and will apply to more than 120,000 employees in Asda Retail and Asda Express. There has been a 10% increase for hourly-paid retail roles since 2023 and a 28% rise in retail pay since 2021, with a total investment of almost £415 million.
Usdaw, the trade union that negotiates with Asda on retail pay in Northern Ireland and in Asda Express, has recommended members accept the rates in a ballot that closes on 15 March. The outcome will be confirmed on 18 March.
Mohsin Issa, co-owner of Asda, said: “This record investment will see Asda become the highest-paying grocery retailer in the UK, recognising the hard work of our store colleagues in serving customers every day. We want to be [an employer] that people are proud to work for, which is why we are increasing pay for retail and Express [employees] by more than 8% this year. As we celebrate our 1000th store opening, I want to thank all our [employees] for their commitment and dedication in bringing Asda’s great value fuel and groceries to more communities.”
Hayley Tatum, chief people and corporate affairs officer at Asda, added: “Asda’s continued investment in our people is reflective of the hard work and commitment of our [employees] in serving customers every day. Asda’s new rates of pay exceed the current real living wage. We are proud to announce this record investment in our [employees].”