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​Lidl Announces It Will Give Pay Rise To 16,000 Staff Next Year

​Lidl Announces It Will Give Pay Rise To 16,000 Staff Next Year

The German budget supermarket chain will pay its workers the living wage of £8.75 an hour (£10.20 in London) starting from 1 March 2018.

Chris Ogden

Chris Ogden

German discount supermarket chain Lidl have many things going for them. Those mouth-watering biscuits that you struggle to find anywhere else, for a start.

But on the wage front too, it looks like the German budget chain is leaving British supermarkets in the dust.

Lidl has announced that as of next year, it will be giving a pay rise to its lowest paid workers as a result of a bump in the living wage.

via GIPHY

The decision means that 16,000 of the supermarket chain's staff can expect an increase in their wages after the move comes into effect on 1 March 2018.

"As the fastest growing supermarket our business is continuing to go from strength to strength, and it's only right that we show our commitment to our colleagues in the same way that they commit to the business and our customers each and every day," said Christian Härtnagel, chief executive of Lidl in the United Kingdom.

The discount supermarket said that it will be increasing the wages of its entry-level staff to £8.75 per hour outside of London and to £10.20 within London.

This is an increase from Lidl's current entry-level wage of £8.45 outside London and £9.75 within the M25, in line with increase in the living wage announced on Monday.

Credit: PA

The supermarket has committed itself to an additional annual investment of over £3.5m in order to cover the cost of the rise. That's pretty nice of them.

Lidl is clearly dedicated to the living wage, having previous form when it comes to investing in it, so we can expect the chain to put its money where its mouth is.

In 2015 the supermarket invested £9m into starting to pay its staff the 'real' living wage, claiming to become the first supermarket in the UK to do so.

It's important to note that the 'real' living wage is different from the government's national minimum wage, now known as the National Living Wage (if you're over 25).

Unlike the minimum wage, the 'real' living wage is updated each year and calculated based on the basic cost of living in the UK.

Credit: PA

As it is calculated by the real cost of living, the 'real' living wage is consistently higher in London than it is elsewhere in the UK - great news for anyone paying a grand a month for a cupboard in Zone 4.

The 'real' living wage is set independently by the Living Wage Foundation. Currently, businesses do not need to pay it but can sign up to it voluntarily.

So if you work for Lidl, you might want to send your bosses a thank you.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: UK News, Business, News, lidl