Asda increases staff wages by 8.4%

In line with other major British retailers, Asda, the third-largest retail chain in the country, said on Friday that it will increase the pay of over 120,000 store employees by 8.4% starting on July 1. This decision coincides with an increase in the statutory minimum wage.

After a minor interim boost in April, Asda said that its hourly rate for retail pay will increase from £11.11 to £12.04 for employees outside of London and from £12.28 to £13.21 for those in the capital as of July 1.

On April 1, the primary government-mandated minimum wage in Britain is scheduled to increase from £10.42 per hour to £11.44.

The supermarket chain estimated that the rate rise would cost 150 million pounds. The grocery group was purchased by the billionaire Issa brothers and private equity firm TDR Capital from Walmart in 2021.

As it evaluates whether the inflationary pressure in the British economy has decreased sufficiently for it to lower interest rates from their highest point since 2008, the Bank of England is closely monitoring pay settlements.

The Real Living Wage is determined by calculating how much money employees and their families need to cover basic expenses. A small number of British firms choose to pay for it.

Retailer of apparel and food Marks & Spencer stated this week that almost 40,000 shop employees will receive a wage increase of 10.1%. Moreover, salary increases for 2024 have been announced by Sainsbury's, Aldi, Lidl, and Costa Coffee.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com