How much do supermarkets pay their staff?

Pay and benefits

April 2025 sees the introduction of increases to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage, forcing retailers to review their pay structures. The living wage increases from £11.44 to £12.21 for workers over the age of 21.

Minimum wages for younger workers have also been boosted from £8.60 to £10 those aged 18-20, and from £6.40 to £7.55 for under 18s and apprentices.

 

The hikes follow a trend of rising minimum wage over recent years, which will be hard for many retailers to swallow. And, in a landscape where the German-founded discounters Aldi and Lidl have led the pack by a significant margin in recent years, it narrowed the field, and made pay between the major retailers suddenly much more competitive.

The decade before the pandemic saw a gradual erosion of support for staff. The majority of pay increases at the big retailers usually came with caveats about reducing overtime rates, paid breaks or premium rates for bank holidays.

Job perks were also coming under pressure. In 2014, there was uproar when Asda stripped out staff canteens from stores and replaced them with vending machines. This reached an even greater fervour two years later, when even the vending machines were pulled.

Read more:

• Inside the shrinking fmcg wage purse: why isn’t pay keeping pace?

• Supermarket progress on gender pay equality – and who’s gone backwards

Who pays best?

With the introduction of £13.35 base rates from March 2026, Aldi is set to become the highest paying of the supermarkets. Traditionally, Lidl and Aldi battle it out to become the highest paying and typically match each other or come within pence per hour. Aldi will also raise its London pay offer to £14.71 an hour within the M25.

However, Aldi falls behind on the list of employee perks. Though it does ensure employees’ breaks are paid, it doesn’t offer its colleagues a discount in store, a bonus scheme or discounted meals. 

So, where do employee pay and perks stand now?

Supermarkets are paying more than ever before. Below we take a look at their most recent wage announcements, as well as the perks offered by each retailer.

Aldi
£13.35/hour (£14.71 within the M25)

As of 1 March 2026, the minimum hourly entry level rate for Aldi store workers rises from £13.03 to £13.35 nationally. Inside the M25, it rises from £14.33 to £14.17. Aldi also offers paid breaks, which it said are worth £1,385 a year to the average store worker.

Parental leave entitlement

Aldi says it offers 26 weeks of maternity leave at full pay. Parental leave varies by role.

Aldi’s other benefits

• Flexible working to suit personal needs
• Access to a 24-hour employee assistance programme
• Health cash plan
• 24/7 virtual GP
• Gym membership discounts
• Discounted cinema tickets
• Money off holidays and other savings;
• Free mortgage advice via an independent financial adviser

Asda
£12.60 (£13.82 in London)  

From October 2025, the entry-level hourly rate for Asda store workers will rise from to £12.60 nationally and £13.82 inside the M25.

Asda says its benefits include a private GP service, unlimited mental health support and flexible wage services through Wagestream. It also offers 10% discounts to employees in stores, with up to 30% on insurance, tyres, pharmacy services and Asda mobile.

Parental leave

Asda offers 26 weeks of maternity and adoption leave at full pay. Paternity leave at full contractual is currently set at four weeks. Primary kinship carers (those who take on long-term care for a child who can no longer live with their parents) will also be entitled to 26 weeks’ company leave and pay.

Asda’s other benefits:

• 24/7 access to a private GP service for colleagues, their partner and children;
• Free eye tests
• Eight free physiotherapy consultations for colleagues and their partner
• Legal and general care concierge, including free expert information on later life care for loved ones
• Mortgage Advice Bureau support
• Unlimited mental health support for colleagues and their partner
• Flexible wage services and saving schemes

Co-op
£12.60 (£13.85 in London)

From 1 August 2025, the Co-op’s minimum hourly rate for customer team members will rise to £12.60, which it says equates to £13.46 per hour for a full time customer team member when factoring in paid breaks.

The Co-ops says it offers 20% off selected Co-op own brand products plus 10% off branded products, as well as discounts on its other services such as insurance, legal services and funeral care.

Parental leave

Co-op offers 20 weeks of maternity leave at full pay and four weeks of paternity leave at full pay.

Co-op’s other benefits:

• Flexible pay
• Savings options with two credit unions
• A range of guidance and support from Wagestream
• Telus Health and an employee assistance programme
• Compassionate leave policy, including up to 10 days paid leave for bereavement
• A dedicated perimenopause and menopause policy providing support, monthly coffee mornings and talks from menopause experts

Iceland

Iceland advertises roles at varying pay rates across the UK.

Parental leave

Iceland offers 14 weeks of maternity leave at full pay. Its paternity leave policy offers one week at full pay and a further week at statutory pay.

Iceland’s other benefits:

• Healthcare scheme for all colleagues
• Mental and physical welfare support (through GroceryAid and others)
• Bereavement and fertility support
• Reward & recognition activity for all colleagues, including long service awards
• Refer a friend scheme
• Access to specialist services such as Alvie, which supports colleagues diagnosed with cancer
• Employee representative group
• Christmas vouchers

Lidl
£13/hour (£14.35 within the M25)

From 1 September 2025, entry level hourly pay for Lidl store and warehouse workers will rise to £14.35 inside the M25, up from £14. For those across the rest of the country, the rate will rise to £13, up from £12.75.

Where rival Aldi offers no discount to colleagues, Lidl offers a 10% discount card to staff. It also promises employees heading off on a form of parental leave a baby gift full of Lidl’s range of baby products.

Parental leave

Lidl offers the best of the bunch in terms of maternity leave, at 28 weeks fully paid and 2 weeks of paternity leave at full pay.

Lidl’s other benefits:

• Award, bonus and meal to mark 10, 25 and 40-year anniversaries with Lidl
• Subsidised canteens
• Baby essentials bundle ahead of maternity/paternity leave
• 15% off antenatal courses
• Voluntary private medical and dental insurance
• Free flu jab every year
• Life assurance
• Free access to a 24/7 counselling service
• Sabbatical leave of up to three months, following five years’ service

M&S:
£12.60 (£13.85 in London)

From 1 April 2025, Marks & Spencer’s hourly rate for store assistants rose from £12 to £12.60 nationally and from £13.15 to £13.85 in London.

The retailer also offers free meals to staff, as well as 20% discounts on its products and interest-free finance on tech products. 

Parental leave

M&S offers 26 weeks of maternity leave at full pay. For paternity leave, it draws with Tesco, offering a generous six weeks fully paid.

Further M&S benefits:

• Life cover up to 4x salary
• 24/7 virtual GP service and employee assistance programme for colleagues and family
• Free eye tests; access to six free physio sessions
• Check4Cancer support and free screenings for colleagues at higher risk
• 25% off gym memberships and online fitness classes
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Interest-free season ticket loans
• Option to purchase additional holiday

Morrisons
£12.21/hour (£13.06 within the M25)

Morrisons says its established rate for a customer assistant all is £12.21 per hour, while supermarket staff within the M25 have a location supplement of 85p per hour on top.

The company also offers discounted meals, a 15% discount for staff, plus a 10% discount for a nominated member of their family or friend up to a £1,000 cap. 

Parental leave

Morrisons offers 26 weeks of maternity leave at full pay. It offers four weeks of paternity leave in the form of two week at full pay and a further two at half pay.

Morrisons other benefits:

• 10% discount card for leavers with long service (25 years)
• Discounts with 1,500+ retailers and service providers through MyPerks
• Giving to charity via pay (saving tax and NI); life assurance
• Mental, physical and preventative health support
• Financial education, educational tools and loans (deducted from pay)
• Cashback on prescriptions, glasses & contact lenses, physio
• Digital GP appointments

Sainsbury’s
*£12.60/hour (£13.85 in London)

From March 2025, hourly pay will rise to £12.45, from £12, nationwide, and to £13.70, from £13.15 in London. In August, this will increase again to £12.60 and £13.85 respectively. It marks a 58% increase in the rate of hourly pay at Sainsbury’s since 2018.

Sainsbury’s also offers staff 10% discounts in Sainsbury’s, Argos and Habitat and an annual bonus scheme.

Parental leave

Sainsbury’s offers 20 weeks of maternity leave at full pay and four weeks of paternity leave at full pay.

Sainsbury’s other benefits:

• 24/7 access to employee assistance programme, including pay advance, affordable loans and savings help, advice on legal and counselling issues
• Online wellbeing platform
• Financial, physical and mental health wellbeing resources
• Free staff meals
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Health/dental plans to claim back costs
• Discounted gym access
• Free period products in colleague bathrooms

Tesco
£12.64/hour

From August 2025, Tesco store workers will receive £12.64 an hour nationally, up from £12.02 at the beginning of the year, and £12.45 between March and July.

Tesco’s discounts programme offers colleagues 10% off in Tesco and One Stop stores as standard, with additional discounts around pay day up to a £2,000 limit. It offers further discounts of up to 50% on its pharmacy, F&F, Tesco Mobile, Vision Express and Tesco Bank insurance. 

From August 2025, it will scrap the Sunday premium for colleagues who joined before 24 July 2022, which boosted pay by 10% per hour worked on a Sunday.

Parental leave

Tesco offers 26 weeks of maternity leave at full pay. For paternity leave, it draws with M&S, offering a generous six weeks fully paid.

Other Tesco benefits:

• Virtual GP service
• 24/7 access to wellbeing services including sleep therapists, nutritionists, counsellors, exercise coaches and physiotherapists
• Right to request flexible working from day one
• Free food in staff canteens
• Pay advance scheme to receive up to 25% of contractual pay early
• Save As You Earn colleague share scheme
• Retirement savings plan
• Cycle to Work scheme

Waitrose
£12.40/hour (£13.85 in London) 

Waitrose is to pay store staff £12.40 an hour nationally from 1 April. That’s up from £11.55, meanwhile while those inside the M25 will receive at least £13.85 up from £12.89.

Its discount scheme gives employees 25% off in John Lewis (12% off electrical products, with some exceptions) and 20% in Waitrose. JLP also offers staff a bonus as an share-out of profit determined by the group’s performance. The 2021/22 bonus was 3% of pay.

Parental leave

For both maternity and paternity leave, Waitrose offers 14 weeks at full pay and a further 12 weeks at half pay.

Other Waitrose benefits:

• Free entry to attractions and discounts/deals on restaurants and theme parks
• £60 ticket subsidy for theatre, concerts and events
• £250 towards personal development courses
• Subsidised canteens; bonus scheme when profitability allows
• Financial hardship grants and interest-free loans
• Physio and occupational health practitioners
• Free access to a digital GP and mental health platform

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