The budget supermarket chain announced starting wages will rise to £11 per hour nationally, while those working in the Greater London area will have theirs increased to £12.45.
The new minimum pay rate is now higher than the living wage, which was raised to £10.90 in September following inflation and the cost of living crisis.
Giles Hurley, chief executive officer of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: ‘We are incredibly proud of every single member of Team Aldi.
And we are pleased to become the first UK supermarket to pay a minimum of £11 per hour to all store assistants, exceeding the Living Wage Foundation’s recommended real living wage.’
The new wages for store employees are more than 15% higher than one year ago, meaning the company has invested £81 million to keep up with inflation.
The increase was announced just one month after their last pay hike in September, which saw workers’ hourly rate rise from £10.10 to £10.50.
This was adding onto the the first pay rise in February, which was originally £9.55 an hour but raised by 55p.
Some 26,000 members of staff are expected to receive the latest wage increase which will be implemented from January 1, 2023.
Due to their pay commitments Aldi was even named employer of the year in supermarket trade magazine The Grocer.
But supermarkets across the industry are raising their pay in a competition to recruit more staff before the Christmas rush.
Aldi’s rival, Lidl, increased its rates from £10.10 to £10.90 nationally and £11.30 to £11.95 in London.
Marks & Spencer gave staff a 20p hourly increase, moving from £10 per hour to £10.20.
Budget chain Wilko upped its pay on Friday, meaning staff now receive a minimum of £10 per hour.
