Holland & Barrett is increasing hourly pay for store colleagues by 9% from £11 to £12, almost 5% above the new National Living Wage.

The health and wellness retailer’s London-based employees will receive a boost from £11.95 to £13, marking an increase in pay of 25% for store-based colleagues in the past two years.

The new pay rates will be brought into effect from 1 April and come alongside other benefits already available to staff including a 25% discount and free online delivery.

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Other benefits include market-leading apprenticeships, free wellness diagnostic tests, £50 product allowance, flexible holiday allowance, exclusive discounts and wellbeing tools.

Holland & Barrett UK&I CEO Anthony Houghton said: “We’re known for our amazing, knowledgeable colleagues, who help our customers with their wellness needs. We are delighted to once again be offering a substantial pay increase, alongside our strong benefits plan.

“We have exciting plans for the business in the year ahead, and look forward to continuing to provide health and wellness services to customers nationwide for another 150 years.”

It comes as Central Co-op also recently said it was boosting staff pay to £12 an hour alongside paid breaks, marking an increase of 24% in base pay over the past two years.

The new rates will be effective from 1 April and equate to an extra £2,535 per year for a full-time customer service assistant.