// Lidl to invest £10m in its employees to increase hourly wages for 19,000 staff
// Rate of entry-level pay will rise from £9 to £9.30p/hr outside London & £10.55 to £10.75p/hr within the M25
// Lidl says its entry-level wages are between 13-30% higher than the National Living Wage
Lidl has announced it will invest over £10 million in its employees, which will be used to increase hourly wages for 19,000 staff members.
The discount grocer said it would increase entry-level pay from £9 to £9.30 per hour outside of London and £10.55 to £10.75 per hour within the M25, with employees earning up to £11.70 per hour, depending on location and length of service.
The new wages, which will affect more than 80 per cent of Lidl’s British workforce, will be valid from the start of the German retailer’s new financial year in March 2020.
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Once it comes into effect, Lidl staff will be remunerated between 13-30 per cent higher than the government’s current National Living Wage rate, while also aligning with the rates advocated by the Living Wage Foundation.
The pay rise also represents a wage increase of over 30 per cent across the past five years for Lidl employees.
“During this time of such uncertainty, we feel fortunate to be able to make this investment in our colleagues, and give them peace of mind with regards to their salary,” Lidl GB chief executive Christian Härtnagel said.
“Our hourly paid employees represent over 80 per cent of our entire workforce, and are the absolute backbone of our business.
“It is because of them that we continue to be the fastest supermarket, and are able to realise our ambitious expansion plans.
“This move is, therefore, testament to the unwavering commitment that each and every one of them puts into their work on a daily basis.”
The news comes after Lidl recently announced a £15 billion investment in British food, farming and production over the next five years.
It currently has 770 stores across Great Britain and this month it revealed an ambitious target of 1000 stores by the end of 2023.
In June, Lidl also announced a £500 million investment in London over the next five years to open new stores across the capital.
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