Lidl has announced its seventh pay rise since 2023, investing an additional £29 million and doubling paid paternity leave for its more than 35,000 employees. The German-owned discounter claims the changes, effective March 1 for pay, make it the "highest paying UK supermarket" ahead of the national minimum wage increase in April.
Entry-level pay will rise to £13.45 per hour nationwide, increasing to £14.45 for staff with length of service. In London, new starters will earn £14.80, rising to £15.30 with experience. The move comes before the national minimum wage increases by 50 pence from £12.21 to £12.71 per hour for eligible workers aged 21 and over on April 1.
The company is doubling paternity leave from two to four weeks on full pay. Employees with five years of service will receive eight weeks of fully paid leave. Stephanie Rogers, chief people officer at Lidl, said: «We believe that a longer period of paid paternity leave is a vital step on our journey towards gender equality in the workplace.»
Lidl, now Britain's sixth-largest grocery chain, is experiencing unprecedented growth. Christmas sales surged 10 percent, generating more than £1.1 billion in turnover during the four weeks leading up to Christmas Eve. The company has made the biggest market share gains in the grocery sector, according to experts at Worldpanel.
Rogers emphasized the company's investment strategy: «Our colleagues are the backbone of our business, and their success is our success.» She added: «We are continuing to mark unprecedented growth across Great Britain, creating thousands more jobs along the way, while continuing to invest in our people.»
The discounter plans to open 19 new stores over the next eight weeks, creating up to 640 jobs. After reaching its 1,000th store milestone last year, Lidl aims to add around 40 additional sites in the year to February 28.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
