Lidl to invest £18 mn in wages; to be highest paying supermarket in UK

The move also represents a pay rise of over 6 per cent for some employees and will directly benefit over 21,000 Lidl colleagues across the country, which equates to over 80 per cent of its workforce.

The discounter has long been committed to increasing wages in line with the cost of living, with a combined investment of over £50 million into hourly wages over the past five years. This latest rise recognises the hard work and dedication of frontline colleagues during the last 18 months of the pandemic, the company said in a press release.

As a result of the increase, Lidl employees will benefit from 60p per hour more than the National Living Wage (for over 23s). The commitment also follows a £200 thank-you payment to all front-line workers this year, in recognition of their commitment and dedication throughout the pandemic, as well as a £150 gift voucher for all employees in 2020. This represented a combined investment of £9.5 million from the business.

Christian Härtnagel, chief executive officer at Lidl GB, said: “At Lidl, our frontline colleagues are the backbone of our business. They have worked tirelessly over the past 18 months of the Covid-19 crisis and are integral to our future success. We have ambitious plans to grow our business across Great Britain, and to do that we need to ensure we attract and look after the best talent at every level of our business.  This year we feel incredibly lucky to be in a position as a business to go even further by making this significant investment in our incredible workforce, which will make us the best paying supermarket in the UK.”

Nan Gibson, chief HR officer, commented: “In 2015 we became the first supermarket in the UK to match the rates advocated by the Living Wage Foundation, and we are proud to have consistently increased wages every year since. There is no denying how hard our people work, more so than ever during recent times, and we’re delighted to be able to give our store and distribution centre colleagues the recognition they deserve and look forward to welcoming new colleagues to our teams in the months ahead.”

The wage increase, which will come into effect from the discounter’s new financial year in March 2022, forms part of the discounter’s wider plans to invest £1.3 billion in Great Britain, in 2021 and 2022, alongside a 1,000 stores target by the end of 2023. The commitment also builds on other benefits such as enhanced holiday entitlement and development opportunities and a 10 per cent colleague discount.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)