Lidl introduces new £13.45 rule now in place in all UK stores
Lidl announced a major change in February that would affect all its UK stores. The budget supermarket confirmed that it will be giving thousands of employees a pay rise, which has now come into force.Lidl has increased its entry-level pay to £13.45, with the allowance rising to £14.45 with length of service.The pay increase, which came into effect from March 1, marks the supermarket's seventh rise in the space of three years. It comes Lidl also shared that it is investing £29 million in staff pay, which will benefit both salaried and hourly-paid employees.The change also "once again" makes Lidl the highest-paying supermarket in the UK.All 35,000 staff members have benefited from the pay rise, with those in London seeing their hourly wage rise from £14.35 to £14.80. There's also the chance for a further increase to £15.30 with length of service.Lidl, at the time of announcing, said that its staff members are the only ones within the industry to benefit from the Real Living Wage nationwide and London Living Wage.Staff members are also benefiting from several other advantages, including the doubled paternity leave from two weeks to four on full pay, and after five years in the role, employees will be entitled to eight weeks' full pay.Lidl GB chief people officer Stephanie Rogers said: “We’re delighted to offer these family leave enhancements for new parents.“These improvements build on our extension of paid maternity leave and further demonstrate our ongoing commitment to providing competitive and meaningful benefits to our colleagues.”Ms Rogers added: “We believe that a longer period of paid paternity leave is a vital step on our journey towards gender equality in the workplace.”“By encouraging the taking of paternity leave, particularly by our more senior male colleagues, stretch and development opportunities will be opened up for others.”
