Lidl has moved to match Aldi’s headline pay increase for shopfloor staff while nudging ahead inside London, in what looks like the latest instalment of a low‑margin retailer pay war. According to reporting in The Grocer, Lidl will raise its national entry‑level hourly rate to £13 from 1 September 2025 and to £14.35 for colleagues working within the M25 — 2p higher than Aldi’s London rate announced earlier. Reuters likewise reported the change, noting the rise takes effect on 1 September and follows an Aldi announcement that store assistants would be paid at least £13 nationwide from the same date. Aldi’s own press centre framed its move as making it the first supermarket to pay a minimum of £13 an hour.

The fresh increases echo the pattern of reciprocal upratings between the two German discounters earlier this year. In March both retailers raised pay — leaving a national starting rate of £12.75 and differing M25 rates — and then matched and edged each other again as the rises came into force. Lidl’s corporate statements emphasise this is its fifth pay rise in two years and the company describes the September uplift as part of a sustained investment in colleagues. Lidl’s public messaging attributes the increases to the pressures of growth and the need to recruit across an expanding store estate.

Expansion plans from both chains help explain the underwriting of higher pay. Lidl has said it will open around 40 new stores in the current financial year and accelerate openings next year; Reuters and The Grocer report Lidl trades from roughly 980 stores. Aldi has outlined a more aggressive roll‑out, projecting roughly 30 new openings in 2025, recruiting some 1,600 store roles through the year and aiming to average a new store a week, according to Retail Gazette and Aldi’s statements. Both groups continue to cite long‑term network targets of about 1,500 UK stores, a strategy that requires sustained recruitment and retention of shopfloor staff.

There are small differences in how each company presents the cost of these rises. Lidl has described the September move as its fifth increase in two years and — in various statements — put its cumulative pay investment at figures of around £54m last year and more than £70m overall. Insider Media and Lidl’s own press material put the total headline investment for recent rises in the tens of millions. Aldi’s press release, meanwhile, set out its own length‑of‑service uplifts and highlighted a package of colleague benefits — including paid breaks — which it values at roughly £1,385 a year for a store colleague. The companies’ differing ways of calculating and presenting investment mean headline totals are not directly comparable without the underlying accountancy detail.

Both discounters continue to pay progressively more with length of service. Lidl has said that, from 1 September, entry‑level pay will rise to £13.95 after three years’ service nationwide and to £14.65 after two years’ service within the M25. Aldi’s published banding shows similar progression, with its post‑service rates closely aligned to Lidl’s increases. The two chains therefore not only match on headline starter pay nationally but also offer structured pay premiums that push experienced shop assistants above the starting point.

The moves come against a backdrop of wider labour market scrutiny. Reuters noted the Bank of England is watching wage settlements as they feed through the economy; Britain’s national living wage for over‑23s stood below these offers at £12.21 an hour, according to recent reporting. In sector terms, Aldi and Lidl remain at — or close to — the top of the supermarket pay table, a positioning they present as a strategic advantage for staff recruitment and retention as they expand.

Both retailers framed the increases as recognition of colleagues’ contribution. “Over the last two years, we’ve held our spot as the fastest‑growing bricks‑and‑mortar supermarket,” Lidl GB chief people officer Stephanie Rogers said in Lidl’s announcement, adding that the success was “made possible because of the ongoing efforts of our colleagues” and that the business was “market‑leading on pay.” Aldi chief executive Giles Hurley, in Aldi’s press materials, also thanked colleagues and reiterated the company’s commitment to pay and colleague benefits as it grows its estate. Whether the uplifts will trigger a further round of matching or small increments remains a live question; for now, the two discounters’ competitive expansion plans and need to staff new stores looks set to keep pay under close scrutiny from rivals, regulators and the Bank of England.

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Source: Noah Wire Services