LIDL EMPLOYEES AT NEW AVONMOUTH WAREHOUSE TO BENEFIT FROM INCREASE IN PAY

• Lidl has announced that it will be increasing salaries of all its hourly paid employees in the new year
• The news comes as operations begin at its new warehouse in Avonmouth
• Entry-level wages will increase from £8.75 to £9.00, and will come into effect from 1st March 2019
• The supermarket is continuing to recruit for roles at the distribution centre, to cater for its expanding operations
• The warehouse will initially service 42 stores across the West of England, which will contin-ue to rise
• The new pay rise will directly benefit nearly 1,200 store and warehouse employees in the re-gion

25 November 2018: Lidl has announced that it will be increasing the wages of all its hourly paid employ-ees, directly benefiting employees at its new distribution centre in Avonmouth.

As part of the supermarket’s ongoing commitment to supporting its employees inside and outside of the workplace, Lidl will be increasing entry-level pay from £8.75 to £9.00, which will come into effect from 1st March 2019.

This marks the fourth year that Lidl has increased the pay of its hourly paid employees, to match the rates calculated by the Living Wage Foundation, which equates to an increase of nearly 25% in just four years. The new starting salaries will be 10% higher than the Government’s new ‘National Living Wage’, an-nounced in the latest Budget.

The news comes as operations begin at the brand new warehouse, which will service 42 of the supermar-ket’s stores across the west of England to start with, which will continue to rise in the coming months.

As operations expand, Lidl is continuing to recruit for roles at the warehouse, particularly in the run up to Christmas, when it experiences its busiest trading period.

The 52,000m² distribution centre, which is Lidl’s biggest in the UK, will support stores from Bridgwater to Worcester and across to Oxford, with 3,800 pallets of products projected to pass through the premises every day.

Graham Clark, Lidl UK Regional Director for Avonmouth, said: “The opening of our new distribution centre marks an incredibly exciting time for the business, and I’m delighted that it also coincides with our com-mitment to increase salaries in the new year.

“We have some of the most talented people in the industry working with us, and it’s therefore only right that they continue to be amongst the best paid. As we continue to expand our operations in the region, we look forward to welcoming more colleagues into the Lidl team, and encourage anyone interested in working with us, to get in touch via our careers website.”

The opening of its new Avonmouth RDC forms part of the supermarket’s commitment to invest £1.45bn in Great Britain between 2017-18. The grocer has opened three new warehouses in the past two years, in Southampton, Wednesbury and Exeter, with plans for five further regional distribution centres to open by 2025, along with the relocation of its Livingston warehouse to Eurocentral.

Since Lidl first opened its doors in the UK in 1994 it has been responding to growing customer demand, with 730 stores nationwide to date. The supermarket continues to be one of the fastest growing in the UK, with the latest Kantar Worldpanel* figures showing a market share high of 5.6%. and year-on-year sales growth of 12.7%, making it one of the fastest growing supermarkets in Britain.

ENDS