Asda invests £80m to boost retail pay
Asda is investing £80m in retail pay to increase hourly rates for store-based colleagues to £12.60 from October.
Around 115,000 colleagues will receive an above inflation increase of 4.7% in three phases, taking rates from £12.04 to £12.21 from April, £12.45 from July and £12.60 from October.
Hourly rates for colleagues at stores inside the M25 will rise to £13.38 from April, £13.62 from July and £13.82 from October.
Since 2021, the supermarket giant has invested more than half a billion pounds in retail pay, increasing the hourly base rate by 35% from £9.36 to £12.60.
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Alongside the retail pay investment, Asda is also introducing new and enhanced family friendly policies for all colleagues, effective from July.
This includes increasing company maternity and adoption leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks and doubling the duration of paternity leave from two weeks to four weeks at full contractual pay.
The supermarket is also introducing new kinship carers leave policy – providing 26 weeks paid leave for kinship carers for those caring for other children – and a new policy providing two weeks paid leave for those who experience pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
Asda chief people officer Hayley Tatum MBE said: “We’re proud to have invested more than £500m in retail pay over the last four years. Our colleagues are what makes Asda special, and this latest pay investment, plus an increased colleague discount and enhanced family friendly policies, recognises the key role they play in serving customers each day.”
The new rates were agreed with trade union Usdaw, which holds the mandate to negotiate pay with the grocer in Asda Express, Food Service and Leon.
Usdaw national officer Jayne Allport added: “We are pleased to have secured an above inflation increase and be able match the real Living wage for our members in Asda Express, Food services and Leon.
3 Comments. Leave new
So with splitting it up over three periods it makes Asda the lowest paying of the big supermarkets over the full year. And minimum wage for the first three months of that is dreadful
Minimum wage, minimum effort. No wonder staff morale is in the gutter.
So national minimum wage goes up on the 1st April asda pay award 13th April poor show asda this is shocking