Sainsbury’s is investing £200 million in increasing employee pay by 9.1 per cent.

Effective from March, 120,000 employees at Sainsbury’s and Argos will see their hourly wage rise from £11 to £12 per hour nationally and from £11.95 to £13.15 for those based in the capital.

The supermarket claims the move makes it the largest supermarket to pay its employees the new Real Living Wage nationally and the London Living Wage.

Representing its single biggest ever investment into colleague pay, Sainsbury’s added that the figure brings its three-year total investment in employee pay to over £500 million.

“I’m delighted to confirm an industry leading pay increase again this year for all our hourly paid colleagues,” said Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts. “We believe well rewarded, engaged colleagues deliver the best service and attracting and retaining the best talent will be crucial to our success in delivering the next phase of our business strategy.”

Bally Auluk, national officer at the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) said the pay rise had come in part due to its strong working relationship with Sainsbury’s.

“The current cost of living is still on the rise which is why USDAW are very pleased the business has taken this on board during our consultations and responded in such a positive manner,” she said.

In 2022, Sainsbury’s increased employee pay from £10.25 to £11.00 per hour outside London and from £11.30 to £11.05 per hour in the capital.

Last year Aldi said it had become the first supermarket to pay its staff at least £12 per hour, while in September Lidl hiked employee pay for the third time in 12 months, most recently from £11.00 to £11.40 per hour.

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