Supermarket chain Asda has announced that it will give its hourly-paid retail employees a 10% pay increase, with its national rate rising from £10.10 to £11.00 per hour from 2 April, and £11.11 per hour from 2 July.
As part of a £141 million investment in 2023 to boost hourly pay rates for more than 115,000 staff who work across its 633 stores, the business will also raise its rate for workers located inside the M25 from £11.27 to £12.17 from 2 April and £12.28 from 2 July.
The new rates of pay, which apply to retail staff across the UK, were agreed with trade union Usdaw, which holds the mandate to negotiate with Asda on retail pay in Northern Ireland.
The rates will exceed the government’s national living wage, which is set to rise to £10.42 in April for those aged 23 and above, and the real living wage of £10.90 across the UK and £11.95 in the capital, as recommended by the Living Wage Foundation.
Asda’s hourly-paid retail staff received an 8% pay increase during 2022.
According to the supermarket, all eligible hourly-paid store staff who have been with Asda for more than three months will also receive a bonus payment for 2022. The amount is set to be confirmed at the end of February and paid the following month.
Mohsin Issa, co-owner of Asda, said: “We appreciate the great job that our store workers do representing Asda while serving customers day in and day out. We know that rising living costs are affecting customers and staff alike and recognise we have a responsibility to support them during these challenging times. This is why we have made a record investment of £141 million to increase pay for retail employees by 10% this year.”