The German supermarket chain, Lidl, has given assurances to its staff that it will become the first major retailer in the UK to voluntarily move to paying the living wage. A political hot potato in recent months, with a wide range of voices insisting that changes need to be made to the way the lowest earners in the UK are remunerated, Lidl have taken the lead while others in the sector insist that their ‘full package’ including staff discounts makes up for any shortfall in comparison.
From October, Lidl has committed to paying £8.20/hour to staff in England, Wales and Scotland, while those in its London stores will receive £9.35/hour. No official figures have yet been released regarding Lidl’s stores in Northern Ireland, although promises to meet recommended levels have been made.
These figures, as those who followed the Budget earlier in the year will attest, are actually higher than those recommended by government; Lidl has promised to maintain its wage levels according to advice from the Living Wage Foundation. The Chancellor, in July, promised that all workers across the UK should receive a minimum of £7.20/hour, which Lidl already beats at £7.30/hour.
The offer to increase pay comes following repeated strong performances from the supermarket chain which now has c 5.5 million customers each week. It remains to be seen if any of the other supermarkets follow suit – currently Aldi are the only other player in this sector to pay over £8/hour – with Tesco and Sainsburys paying less than £7.40/hour and Asda less still at £7/hour from October 1st (although all three pay for on-shift breaks, something the discounters do not).
In the past weeks murmurs of discontent from some business leaders have been surfacing; worried by the potential hit to their bottom line some, including the Federation of Small Businesses, have made clear that they believe an increase to staff wages will adversely affect small businesses the most severely, ‘particularly those in the hospitality, retail and social care sectors where low pay is common and margins tight.’
