UK's '˜highest-paying supermarket' to create 4,000 jobs

Aldi will increase its its minimum wage to Â£8.53 an hour from next month

Aldi is to recruit 4,000 new permanent workers in stores and warehouses across the country, as part of the supermarket giant's plan to open around 70 new shops this year.

The German retailer, which already employs 29,000 people in the UK, will open its 700th UK store in February.

Aldi has also said it will become the UK’s highest paying supermarket when it increases its minimum wage to £8.53 an hour from next month.

The German supermarket chain said 3,350 UK workers will benefit from the pay rise on 1 February. Staff in London will be paid an hourly rate of £9.75.

The move comes a year after Aldi raised its minimum wage to £8.40 an hour, and to £9.45 an hour in London.

It also beats the Government’s national Living Wage of £7.20 an hour, which will go up to £7.50 in April.

Matthew Barnes, head of Aldi’s UK operations, said: “We recognise the valuable contribution that our thousands of store employees make every day”.

The company wants to open another 300 stores over the next five years to bring its total to 1,000 in the UK.

Meanwhile rival Lidl announced today it would create 500 jobs as it opens a new warehouse in Bolton.

The company has acquired the freehold for 43.71 acres at the town’s Logistics North scheme for £22.5m, and it will spend millions more developing the site.

Last month, Lidl announced plans to create 5,000 jobs in London and invest £70m in new UK headquarters in the capital.

Aldi has a 6.2 per cent share of the UK grocery market, making it the country’s sixth-largest supermarket chain. Lidl has a market share of 4.6 per cent, taking it into eighth place.