Supermarket chains in the UK have been announcing plans to hike staff pay ahead of an increase in the national minimum wage in April.
Asda has said it plans to invest £150million into giving more than 120,000 staff an 8.4 percent pay rise. That announcement came a couple of days after Marks & Spencer said it would spend £89m to boost 40,000 employees’ pay packets.
Other supermarket giants have yet to announce their offers to staff, but currently three chains out of 10 in Britain pay their staff the most.
Topping Express.co.uk’s tally of the hourly rate paid to entry level staff are Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl, which all pay £12 outside London.
This rate rises to £13 at Lidl and £12.95 at Aldi for established employees, according to Express.co.uk’s analysis. Inside the M25, the hourly entry rate at Aldi and Lidl is £13.55 (£13.85 for established staff) while £13.50 is paid at Sainsbury’s.
By hourly rate, the top three are followed in descending order by Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Co-op Group, Marks & Spencer, Central England Co-op and Waitrose.
According to Express.co.uk’s analysis, outside London Asda currently pays an hourly rate of £11.11; Tesco pays £11.02 per hour; Morrisons pays £10.92; Co-op Group along with M&S both pay £10.90 and Central England Co-op pays £10.75.
Waitrose pays an average hourly rate of £10.70, with John Lewis Partnership, the parent company of Waitrose, also paying staff a partnership bonus.
Inside the M25, hourly pay rates vary with Asda paying £12.28, M&S £12.05, Tesco £11.95 and Waitrose £11.50. Co-op Group pays an extra £1.35 per hour while Morrisons pays between 60p to 85p more per hour, Express.co.uk’s analysis shows.
Asda, the UK’s third largest supermarket chain, said it will hike basic pay for retail workers to £12.04 an hour later this year, with those at stores inside the M25 receiving £13.21.
It is the latest supermarket group to raise pay rates, ahead of an increase in the national minimum wage in April.
Asda said it will give staff an interim increase to the new national minimum wage in April, with those inside the M25 receiving £12.61, before it launches the larger pay deal in July.
Usdaw, the trade union that negotiates with Asda on retail pay in Northern Ireland and in Asda Express, is recommending members accept the rates in a ballot which is due to close on March 15.
The national minimum wage will increase from its current rate of £10.42 to £11.44 on April 1.
