Within the first few weeks of 2024, some of the UK’s largest supermarkets were quick to kick off the new year with an increase to colleague pay.
In the past few weeks alone, the likes of Tesco, Waitrose, Aldi and most recently, Asda, have also confirmed plans to update their pay rates.
With some grocers making their biggest ever investment into shopfloor pay, we round up how much each retailer offers store assistants and which is the highest paying employer.
Aldi
In December, Aldi raised pay for all store and warehouse colleagues to a minimum of £12 an hour nationally.
This month, Aldi increased pay for store colleagues for the second time this year, reinforcing its position as the UK’s best-paying supermarket.
The discounter’s new national minimum rate is now £12.40 an hour for store assistants and deputy store managers – up from £12.
The new pay increase will also take the hourly rate of store assistants and deputy store managers within the M25 from £13.55 to £13.65.
Aldi is also the only supermarket to offer paid breaks, which for the average store colleague is worth more than an additional £900 a year.
Asda
Last year, Asda invested a record £141m in giving staff a 10% pay increase to hourly-paid store colleagues.
In July, pay rates rose to £11.11 per hour nationally and £12.28 within the M25.
Earlier this month, the supermarket giant proposed new hourly pay rates which have since been accepted by colleagues.
The record £150m investment will see rates increase from £11.11 to £11.44 from 1 April to meet National Minimum Wage requirements, followed by a further rise to £12.04 on 1 July.
Rates for colleagues at stores inside the M25 will rise to £13.21 per hour.
Tesco
Earlier this month, Tesco unveiled plans to increase the hourly pay rate for colleagues in stores from £11.02 to £12.02 – its biggest ever single investment into pay.
It represents a 9.1% rise in base pay and a record investment of more than £300m in hourly colleague pay.
The new rate, which is above the Real Living Wage, has been agreed with Usdaw and will come into effect from April.
As part of the deal, Tesco will be creating one ‘London Allowance’ area at £13.15 per hour for stores within the M25 – an increase from £11.95 inner London and £11.75 outer London, and keeps the retailer in line with the London Real Living Wage.
However, Tesco employees have criticised the supermarket after a month-long delay to the agreed pay rise, which will leave them on less than minimum wage.
While the retailer had initially pledged to boost pay starting next month, it has since revealed that this rise will not be introduced until 28 April, The Guardian reported.
Lidl
In January, Lidl invested £37m in pay to increase the wages of its 26,000 hourly-paid workers and salaried colleagues.
As of 1 March, entry-level roles at the discount grocer are now 17% higher than the new National Minimum Wage being introduced in April.
Colleagues outside the M25 have seen hourly pay raised from £11.40 to £12, increasing to £13 with length of service.
Staff within the M25 saw pay rates rise from £12.85 to £13.55, increasing to £13.85 over time.
Other new pay benefits include a bank holiday premium of £2 per hour and an enhanced nightshift premium of £3.50.
Sainsbury’s
In January, Sainsbury’s invested £200m to increase hourly rates by 9.1%.
From this month, wages for store colleagues will rise to £12 per hour nationally and £13.15 within the M25.
The change, which was described by Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts as “industry leading”, will impact 120,000 hourly paid employees and marks the supermarket giant’s single biggest ever investment into colleague pay.
Since 2018, Sainsbury’s has increased pay by 50% and by 9% in the past year in line with the Real Living Wage.
Employees will receive an additional £1,910 a year nationally and £2,290 a year in London, making it the largest supermarket to pay colleagues the new Real Living Wage nationally and the London Living Wage.
M&S
Last month, M&S unveiled plans to invest a record £89m in UK retail pay – marking a 26.3% increase since March 2022.
From 1 April, the rate of pay for UK customer assistants will increase from £10.90 to £12 per hour, representing a 10.1% increase on last year.
For a full-time worker, this equates to an increase of around £180 per month compared to today’s current rate.
Customer assistants working in London will see the hourly rate rise from £12.05 to £13.15 – a 9.1% increase on last year.
The hourly rate for UK team support managers will be boosted from £12.20 to £13.05, and from £13.35 to £14.20 for those in London.
Co-op
Today (6 March), Co-op announced that it would be rewarding frontline staff with a more than 10% pay increase to at least £12 per hour.
The change, which is in line with the Real Living Wage, represents the convenience retailer’s biggest ever investment into pay.
From 1 April, the rate of pay for Co-op customer team members will rise from £10.90 to £12 per hour – a 10.1% increase on last year and a 21% increase since March 2022.
For team members working in London, the hourly rate will rise from £12.25 to £13.15, while Co-op team leaders will receive the same increase from £12.10 to £13.32 per hour.
Waitrose
As of 1 April 2023, Waitrose raised the hourly base wage nationally to a minimum of £10.50 per hour and to a minimum if £11.72 per hour within the M25.
However, Waitrose owner the John Lewis Partnership is expected to confirm new pay rates when it filed its full-year results next week, according to Retail Week.
This will see a record £116m invested to boost staff pay by an average of 10%.
As of April, the minimum pay is expected to rise to £11.55 per hour nationally and to £12.89 in London.
Morrisons
Morrisons increased its hourly pay rates last October, when they raised the established rate for a customer assistant by 50p to £10.92.
22 Comments. Leave new
So Asda down the list are all below the new minimum wage from April. Fun to see whether they increase their wages by 10% of 3% to minimum wage slave level.
Disappointing to see Waitrose right down the bottom of the list as one of the worst paying supermarket chains. In the current climate the real living wage is needed to protect staff.
Unpaid breaks are the real work scandal currently for hourly paid workers.
Specially the home shopping drivers who are required to remain in the vehicles on their unpaid breaks.
Not sure who you work for but with ASDA you can do what you like on your break in the area , most of the drivers go to burger vans or to the local shops. so its not a strict as its made out ! all depends on your line managers , at my branch they are chilled out and its the way it should be.
Aldi pay their breaks
Shop workers need a decent level of pay for the hrs worked and all the customer agro they get . It’s just cut cut cut at the moment to save money but still expected to do the same amount of work and more
Morrisons was last April not October, will be interesting to see what we will be offered..
These figures are making it look like supermarkets are giving these pay rises, from the goodness of their greedy hearts. They’re certainly not doing that.
The biggest chunk of these pay rises are simply due to it being made a legal requirement to pay their staff the new minimum working wage of £11.44 an hour.
In real terms most are offering a piddly little percentage.
Don’t run away with the notion they have done this because they wanted too, they were forced by Government.
From the first of April until the first of July, asda will pay their staff the national minimum wage. By law this is as little as they are allowed to pay their staff. Sneaky and underhand. Not unlike their owners. But then anyone who seen them in parliament will already know this.
Tesco will be paying their staff just £11.02 until 28th April using an HMRC loophole to delay the pay rise till then and avoiding paying the new legal minimum wage for as long as possible. It may be a perfectly legal exploitation of the rules but despicable for the staff left with less than minimum wage to live on till May pay day
They have also cut sunday premiums from 17%to 10% so all those contracted for sundays get a 40p an hour rise not £1
Asda moving date to July 2924 will mean three months at £11.44, minimum wage. That works out at £11.88 over the year, not £12..04.
They don’t say its over a year, they just make a point that they will hit the required national minimum and give a rise from July again in line with others which is legal for them to do.
Asda also cutting staff hours and shorter shifts.. home shopping drivers have to deliver to the door no matter how many floors !! Even if no lift … so little when expected to do so much
Asda Driver her its one of the easiest jobs I have ever had in my life , its not like its hard, you load your Van and you follow a sat nav to a customers address , rinse and repeat , a lot of the time we are sat around waiting for the next drop on are phones on the internet and being paid to do so ! hardly a hard job, most flats that have 4 + floors have lifts anyway.
Asda don’t shout about the last pay rise which cost hourly paid colleagues the annual bonus which is still paid to salaried staff. Also the fact, shouting about an 8.4% increase when in fact it’s 5.3% after mandatory NMW increase. Also to the fact that the £12.04 rate is deferred until July leaving workers on NMW for 4months. Not as grand as first thought hry
Correct. Issa brothers falsehoods No 24 this week. Works out at £11.88 an hour so not a “market leader”. Still the CEOs have to pay for the private jet somehow….
This is a great move by some of the UK’s retail giants.
……. might be increasing their wage but they’re decreasing the amount of hours allocated to each department, so that staff are being run ragged to make sure everything gets done. How can a department lose 5/6 members of staff not replace them and still be over hours? You’re expected to be grateful for the tiny increase in your pay packet but you’re doing the job of 3/4 people.
Pay rise is always nice even if it’s little. If someone wants to moan about the job in the supermarket try to work in the care home first for the same wages..
What about overtime rates? Are
Retailers paying overtime at a premium?