MAJOR retailers are hiking wages to help workers as the cost of living continues to soar.
Currys today joined the growing list of shops boosting hourly rates, which also includes Lidl, Aldi, Marks & Spencer, and more.
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It comes as energy costs will jump from £1,971 to £2,500 a year from October 1.
Household wallets have also been hit by high inflation, coming in at 9.9% in August 2022, pushing up the cost of food and fuel.
Last week, the Bank of England hiked interest rates for the seventh time in a row to 2.25%.
This makes the cost of borrowing, including loans, credit cards and mortgage repayments more expensive.
To help, we’ve listed the retailers that have announced wage boosts recently below.
Many shops also offer other benefits for staff, such as discounts, free health checks and bonuses.
In other words, if you’re considering a job at one of these shops, it’s worth looking at the work perks you can get too.
Meanwhile, other companies are giving cost-of-living bonuses.
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Aldi – £10.50 from September
Around 4,200 Aldi workers in its distribution centres received a pay rise of up to 9% in September.
The move came only weeks after the discounter announced it would raise the minimum hourly rate for 26,000 workers to £10.50 – and £11.95 for those within the M25.
The second boost means a majority of logistics staff now get a minimum rate of £12.66 an hour.
Those who work outside normal operating hours have also seen their night premium payments increase from 20% to 25% of their normal hourly rate.
Asda – £10.10 from July
Shop floor staff at Asda now earn a minimum of £10.10 an hour, following an increase in July.
Staff previously got £9.66 per hour after a rise from £9.36 on April 1.
Meanwhile, London staff were on £10.83 and now earn up to £11.27 thanks to the July hike.
Currys – £10.35 from October 30
Technology retailer Currys today announced it’s hiking its hourly wages to £10.35 from October 30, up from £10.
Londoners will get £11.43 per hour from the same date, up from £11.05.
The raise represents the third hourly pay increase in 13 months, according to Currys.
Over just a year, its minimum hourly rate has risen by 15.6%.
Lidl – £10.90 from October
Lidl will boost wages for 23,500 workers from October 1.
Entry-level hourly rates are set to increase from £10.10 to £10.90 outside of London.
Hourly rates in London will rise from £11.30 to £11.95 within the M25.
It means roughly 40% of hourly-paid colleagues will earn £12 an hour as a result of their length of service.
The supermarket last gave its staff a pay boost in March.
Marks & Spencer – £10.20 from October
Similar to Aldi, M&S is also giving thousands of workers a second pay rise this year.
From October 1, workers will see their hourly pay increase to a minimum of £10.20.
It follows an initial pay increase to £10 in April this year.
It means a full-time customer assistant at M&S will earn over £100 more each month compared to October 2021.
M&S said this represents an annual uplift of 7.4%.
Morrisons – £10.20 from October
Morrisons is hiking hourly wage rates from October 1 – upping its hourly rate to £10.20 from £10.
This will benefit 80,000 store and manufacturing workers.
The minimum wage for London staff will rise to £11.05 an hour, the same as the voluntary London Living Wage.
Pret a Manger – £9.80 from April
In April this year, Pret a Manger hiked hourly rates for workers from between £9.40 and £9.56 to between £9.80 and £10.15.
The move benefited 8,000 workers, with 6,900 staff members now earning at least £10 an hour.
The salary hike was part of a $9million investment into frontline workers.
Sainsbury’s – £10.25 from October
Sainsbury’s is also giving staff an extra pay rise.
From October, 127,000 hourly paid staff will get a 25p hourly increase.
Pay for retail workers will go from £10 to £10.25, and from £11.05 to £11.30 per hour in London.
It is the first time colleagues will receive an autumn pay rise outside of the annual pay review.
Tesco – £10.10 from July
The UK’s largest supermarket chain last hiked hourly wages in July.
This saw the rates go from £10.10 an hour, up from £9.55.
Meanwhile, staff based in London now get £10.78 per hour – 68p more to reflect higher living costs.
Hourly rates for home shopping delivery drivers and click and collect delivery assistants also increased to £11 from the same date.
Small business owners are now working for free during the cost of living crisis.
If you’re on a low income you might be entitled to the cost of living payment and other benefits.
