German discount supermarket Aldi has announced that it will increase hourly wages again, for the second time this year.
The pay of store assistants and assistant store managers outside London will increase from £12 to £12.40 from 1 June.
Workers in London will see their pay rise from £13.55 to £13.65, Aldi said.
This is Aldi's second pay rise in Britain this year following increases in February.
A number of food and clothing retailers have increased their minimum staff wages, ahead of an upcoming increase in the government's national living wage.
Unlike most other supermarkets, Aldi also rewards workers with paid breaks.
“We firmly believe that our colleagues are the best in the business, so it is only fair that they remain the highest paid and we are committed to ensuring that no other supermarket surpasses us on pay,” said Giles Hurley, CEO of Aldi UK and Ireland. . .
“Our store operations colleagues play an integral role in our growing popularity with shoppers and our continued investment in their salaries is another way of thanking them for the role they play in making Aldi what it is today.”
The latest pay rise took the wage spend so far this year to £79m, the supermarket said.
John Lewis raised its rates by 10%, supermarket. Asda announced an 8.4% pay rise and Marks & Spencer a 10.1% rise for around 40,000 of its store employees.
The Bank of England is watching pay rises closely as it assesses whether inflationary pressure in the British economy has eased enough to cut interest rates from their highest level in 16 years.
