Low prices, high pay! Lidl f irst to offer Living Wage
IT’S already known for its low prices – now Lidl says it’s going to pay the highest supermarket wages.
The discount chain will be the first grocer to adopt the so-called Living Wage for its staff.
And it has vowed not to push up the cost of goods to fund the £9million cost of the increase.
Lidl will give workers at least £8.20 per hour across Britain – some £1 more than the minimum announced by George Osborne in the summer.
The firm, which has 620 stores and a 4.1 per cent share of the UK grocery market, will pay £9.35 per hour in London. It represents an average wage increase of £1,200 per year, with more than half of the grocer’s 17,000 workforce of all ages benefiting from the rise.
The Chancellor stunned firms by revealing plans to introduce what he dubbed a ‘ National Living Wage’ in July.
From April, firms will have to pay all workers over 25 at least £7.20 an hour, up from the current national minimum wage of £6.50. It will rise to £9 by 2020.
However, the move has been controversial. Last week, Costa Coffee faced a backlash for threatening to hike the price of a cappuccino to pay for the cost of higher wages. Tim Martin, founder of pub chain JD Wetherspoon, said the National Living Wage would put ‘financial pressure’ on the already-strained sector.
And Lord Wolfson, chief execu- tive of clothing retailer Next, claimed he will have to increase prices to pay for the rise in staff costs. German-owned Lidl, which made record sales of £4billion last year, said it would absorb the wage increase itself. UK boss Ronny Gottschlich said employees will be amongst the best paid in the supermarket sector.
He added: ‘We recognise that every employee forms an integral part of team Lidl, and each individual’s contribution is valued.
‘It’s therefore only right that we show our commitment, in the same way that the team commit to the business and our customers each and every day, by ensuring a wage that supports the cost of living.
Lidl has also pledged to match the new Living Wage rate if it is higher than predicted. No major retailer pays the living wage as defined by campaign group the Living Wage Foundation, which is £7.85 an hour – and £9.15 in London. However, Tesco said in July it supported the Chancellor’s National Living Wage.
Sainsbury’s said last month it would raise the rate of pay from £7.08 to £7.36 an hour. It remains below the level campaigners have called for, but will be above Osborne’s £7.20 minimum.
Morrisons said discounts and profit- sharing took the pay of many over the living wage. In July Asda said pay and benefits ‘should be considered in the round’.
‘Each individual is valued’