Lidl GB has announced its latest investment into pay, which will see its 26,000 hourly-paid colleagues receive the highest rates of pay in the sector.
From 1st March, the discounter’s entry level rates will increase from £11.40 to £12.00 outside of the M25, rising to £13.00 with length of service. Meanwhile, those working within the M25 will see pay rates rise from £12.85 to £13.55, increasing to £13.85 over time. These new entry level rates will be up to 17% higher than the National Minimum Wage being introduced in April.
The move represents an investment of over £37 million and includes increases for salaried colleagues across the business.
The discounter is also introducing a bank holiday premium of £2.00 per hour and will enhance its nightshift premium to £3.50 per hour, whilst also extending the timeframe in which it is payable by one hour.
Today’s updates bring Lidl’s total investment in pay over the past 12 months to almost £60 million. On top of this, Lidl is the only discounter to reward colleagues with an employee discount (10%), which carries a value of up to £600 per person, equating to an investment of around £20 million a year.
The investment follows record trading and market share gains over the Christmas period for Lidl, with sales growing +12% YoY in the four weeks ending 24th December 2023.1 The discounter also won £116 million of customer spend from competitors over the festive period and was the only supermarket to win spend from every grocer.2
Ryan McDonnell, CEO at Lidl GB, commented: “Customers are switching to Lidl from every other supermarket, and it’s our colleagues’ commitment and performance that is making this happen. It’s only right, therefore, that we thank them for their incredible work and reward them for their efforts. Investing in our people is vital as we set our sights further on increasing our market share and bringing our high quality, great value products to even more households.”
Stephanie Rogers, Chief Human Resources Officer at Lidl GB, added: “Offering competitive pay and being a great place to work for our colleagues is crucial to our success. This has always been central to our strategy, ever since opening our doors almost 30 years ago. I’m pleased that we are continuing to hold ourselves to our high standards and to reward colleagues with the highest rates of pay in the sector.”
As well as competitive pay and colleague discount, Lidl GB also offers colleagues a raft of benefits including its sector leading Maternity and Adoption pay (28 weeks), introduced this month along with paid leave for fertility treatment and pregnancy loss. Further entitlements include enhanced holiday entitlement, life assurance and optional health and dental insurance.