Aldi says it has become the first supermarket in the UK to pay its staff at least £12 an hour.

The new rates of pay, which come into force on 1 February next year, will guarantee store and warehouse employees at least £12 an hour nationally and £13.55 within the M25.

The supermarket claims that its new minimum rate makes it the first to offer rates in line with the Real Living Wage set by the Living Wage Foundation in October.

Store Assistants’ pay will rise further to £12.95 nationally, and £13.85 within the M25, based on the length of service as part of Aldi’s £67 million investment into colleague pay.

In September, rival budget supermarket Lidl said that it was the highest paying supermarket in the UK after increasing its hourly pay for the third time in a year to £11.40 from £11.00 nationally, and to £12.30 depending on the length of service.

However, at the time Aldi disputed these claims, saying that its workers are still the highest paid supermarket sector because it is the “only supermarket to pay for breaks”.

Commenting on Aldi's latest salary hike, Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “Just as we promise to provide the best value to our customers, we are also committed to being the highest-paying supermarket in the sector. We are incredibly proud of every single member of Team Aldi and this is a way of thanking them for all their hard work over the past year. We believe our colleagues are the best in the sector and they play a huge part in making Aldi what it is today.”

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