As July draws to a close, Aldi has become the latest UK supermarket to update pay for store colleagues.

We round up and compare the pay rates at the UK’s leading supermarkets to determine which is the best-paying grocer.

* Pay rates as of August 2025

** Pay rates as of September 2025

Aldi

From September, hourly rates at Aldi are set to increase to a new sector-lead of at least £13.00 nationally, rising to £13.93 based on length of service, and to at least £14.33 within the M25, rising to £14.64.

The new rate follows the discounter first increasing its pay in March to £12.75 nationally, rising to £13.66, and to £14.05 within the M25, rising to £14.35.

The new rate also comes as an even greater increase to the previous rate it promised its store colleagues from September 2025; In March, Aldi had initially pledged to have a minimum pay of £12.85 per hour nationally and £14.16 per hour for those within the M25.

Meanwhile, it is understood the supermarket chain continues to be the only supermarket to offer all colleagues paid breaks, which the grocer has said is worth around £1,370 a year for the average store colleague.

Lidl

Lidl has unveiled new pay rates that will make its colleagues the best-paid in the supermarket sector.

As of next month, entry-level pay for store assistants will rise from £12.40 to £12.75 per hour nationally, increasing to £13.65 with length of service.

In London, new starters will see pay rates go up to £14, rising to £14.35 over time.

The pay increase will impact over 28,000 workers and marks a £15m investment.

Tesco

Tesco is to invest £180m in colleague pay this year, having reached an agreement with trade union Usdaw for a 5.2% increase.

From 30 March, the hourly rate for store colleagues will rise from £12.02 to £12.45, and again to £12.64 from the end of August.

As part of the pay deal, the London allowance will increase to £1.21, up 7.1%, taking rates from £13.15 per hour to £14.36.

This two-stage rate increase means that hourly-paid staff will have seen a pay rise of 32% since April 2022 – equivalent to a more than £900m investment.

M&S

Marks and Spencer is spending £95m on its biggest-ever investment in colleague pay.

From 1 April, the rate of pay for UK customer assistants will increase from £12 to £12.60 per hour, representing a 5% rise on last year and a 26% increase since 2022.

For a full-time colleague outside London, this equates to an increase of around £98 per month compared to today’s current rate.

For the retailer’s customer assistants working in London, the hourly rate will increase from £13.15 to £13.85, representing a 5.3% uplift on last year.

Sainsbury’s

Hourly-paid colleagues at Sainsbury’s currently receive £12 per hour nationally or £13.15 in London, however, the supermarket recently announced that it would increase rates by 5% this year.

From March, colleagues will move to £12.45 per hour, or £13.70 for those in London, with a further increase to £12.60 per hour in August, or £13.85.

The supermarket chain is to split the pay hike into two separate increases to allow it to navigate a challenging cost environment, while ensuring it continues to support staff.

Asda

As of 1 July, pay for employees in Asda’s supermarkets and convenience stores increased from £11.44 to £12.04 per hour nationally and from £12.61 to £13.21 for stores inside the M25.

It formed part of a record £150m investment to increase retail pay by 8.4% last year, taking the total pay investment to £415m since TDR and the Issa brothers acquired the business three and a half years ago.

However, the supermarket chain said that from 1 October, it plans to increase this rate to £12.60 for staff nationally, and to £13.82 for those within the M25.

Co-op

As of 1 April, frontline staff at Co-op were rewarded with a more than 10% pay increase to at least £12.30 per hour – the convenience retailer’s biggest ever investment into pay.

However, by 1 August, this rate is set to increase £12.60 from 1 August 2025 (an overall increase in the hourly rate of pay of 5%), with Co-op adding that with paid breaks, this figure equates to £13.46 per hour* for a full time Customer Team Member.

Meanwhile, Customer Team Members working in London, the hourly rate of pay will increase from £13.15 to £13.85.

For team members working in London, the hourly rate increased from £12.25 to £13.15, while Co-op team leaders received the same rise from £12.10 to £13.32 per hour.

Morrisons

Since October 2024, the established rate for a customer assistant within Morrisons’ supermarkets has been £12 per hour, irrespective of age.

Its supermarket colleagues within the M25 have a location supplement of 85p an hour on top of this.

Waitrose

Waitrose owner the John Lewis Partnership invested a record £116 million in boosting staff pay last year, increasing wages by an average of 10%.

As of April, the minimum pay for Partners outside London will increase from £11.55 to £12.40 an hour and from £12.89 to £13.85 for Partners within the M25.