This article was originally published in 2017 and last updated in March 2025.
Supermarket wages became a hot topic in the pandemic, as staff helped ensure safety on top of their regular duties, and now rampant inflation has intensified competition between major retailers to recruit. So how much do hourly rates differ across the top retailers?
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.
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Who pays best?
With the introduction of £12.75 base rates to be introduced in March 2025, Aldi and Lidl are set to become the highest paying of the supermarkets.The retailers are in the midst of a battle to become the highest paying. However, Aldi is set to take the title of highest paying store in London, beginning pay at £14.05/hour within the M25, compared with Lidl’s £14..
However, Aldi also 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.
Who pays worst?
Morrisons is lagging behind its competitors, offering the minimum wage (£12.21) outside London and an 85p/hour supplement inside the M25.
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
£12.75/hour (£14.05 within the M25)
As of 1 March 2025, the minimum hourly entry level rate for Aldi store workers rises from £12.40 to £12.71 nationally. Inside the M25, it rises from £13.65 to £14. Aldi also offers paid breaks, which it says are worth an additional £1,370 a year to the average store worker.
* Rates effective from March 2025
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.
* Rates effective from July 2024
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.
Iceland
In April 2024, Iceland Foods was advertising store roles paid at £9.50 an hour. For employees over the age of 21, the retailer says it pays £11.50, 6p above the NLW, and £12.65 for employees in London.
Lidl
£12.75/hour (£14 within the M25)
From March 2025, entry level hourly pay for Lidl store and warehouse workers inside the M25 woll rise to £14, up from £13.65. For those across the rest of the country, the rate will rise to £12.75, up from £12.40.
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.
* Rates effective March 2025
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.
* Rates effective from April 2025
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.
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.
* Rates effective from August 2025
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, 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.
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.
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