Aldi is to hire 3,500 new store colleagues as it gears up for the upcoming busy festive season.

The discounter is looking for team members to replenish stock, help customers and boost service, with roles including store assistants, managerial positions and cleaners.

The supermarket added that store colleagues will benefit from its wages, which, alongside Lidl, are currently the highest in the industry at £12.40 per hour nationally and £13.65 per hour inside the M25.

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Aldi recruitment director Kelly Stokes said: “Our mission is to make affordable, high-quality food accessible to everyone, and that is even more important at this time of year.

“Our colleagues are essential to ensuring Aldi shoppers have a great experience in store, and we’re once again closing our stores on Boxing Day to give them a well-deserved break as a thank you for their dedication.”

Aldi’s festive recruitment push comes amid its growth plans to open a further 17 stores before the end of the year, alongside its wider commitment to expand to 1,500 stores across the UK.

Other UK supermarkets are also gearing up for the busy Christmas period, as Morrisons kickstarted its search earlier this week for up to 3,000 extra staff to work in its stores, food manufacturing sites, and logistics operations nationwide.

Sainsbury’s will also create 20,000 new seasonal roles nationwide and earlier this month, M&S revealed it will hire 11,000 workers – an increase of 1,000 from last season – as it anticipates heightened demand during the festive period.