Overview
- Aldi will lift base hourly pay for store assistants to £13.50 nationwide and £14.88 inside the M25 from April 1.
- Pay will rise further with length of service, reaching £14.47 nationally and £15.20 inside the M25, according to the company.
- The retailer says the change covers 28,000 hourly staff and marks its second pay rise of 2026 as part of a £42 million wage investment.
- Aldi claims to lead sector pay and says it is the only major grocer offering paid breaks for all staff, worth about £1,500 a year to a typical store worker.
- Rivals have announced increases too, with Lidl at £13.45, M&S at £13.41, Tesco up 5.1%, and Asda staging rises to £13.10 in July, in a broader push to hire and keep staff.