Asda is investing a record £150m in its retail pay offer to become the highest paying grocery retailer, boosting hourly pay for over 120,000 workers.
The supermarket’s investment will see an 8.4% rise for hourly-paid staff, with rates increasing to £12.04 from 1 July, and to £13.21 for workers inside the M25.
The move comes after a 10% uplift for hourly-paid retail roles in 2023, and a 28% total rise in retail pay since the Issa brothers acquired Asda in 2021, with a total investment of nearly £415m.
The new pay rates, set to apply to staff in Asda Retail and Asda Express subject to ballot, will surpass the government’s National Living Wage and the current Real Living Wage and London Living Wage recommended by the Living Wage Foundation.
Usdaw, the trade union that negotiates with Asda on retail pay in Northern Ireland and in Asda Express, has recommended its members accept the rates in a ballot that closes on 15 March.
The results of the ballot and confirmation of the pay rate increase for staff who have joined Asda from former EG Group sites will be confirmed on 18 March, according to the retailer.
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Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa said: “This record investment will see Asda become the highest paying grocery retailer in the UK, recognising the hard work of our store colleagues in serving customers every day.
“We want to be a company that people are proud to work for, which is why we are proposing increasing pay for retail and express colleagues by more than 8% this year.”
The news comes as Asda opens its 1,000th Asda Express in Stevenage, as it seeks to become the second largest grocery retailer in the UK.
Mohsin Issa has today announced he is set to hand over the running of the supermarket as part of a revamp of the chain.
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