Asda to invest £150 million in staff pay
Asda is to invest £150 million in increasing retail pay as it opens its landmark 1,000th UK store.
The move will result in an 8.4% increase for hourly-paid store colleagues which means they will be paid £12.04 from 1 July. Rates for staff inside the M25 will rise to £13.21.
The new rates are set to apply to staff in Asda Retail and Asda Express stores. The Usdaw trade union is recommending that its members accept the rates in a ballot that closes on 15 March. The outcome of the ballot will be announced three days later.
Asda said the investment is set to boost hourly pay rates for more than 120,000 colleagues.
Hayley Tatum, chief people and corporate affairs officer at Asda, said: “Asda’s continued investment in our people is reflective of the hard work and commitment of our colleagues in serving customers every day. Asda’s proposed new rates of pay not only exceed the current Real Living Wage but would make us the highest-paying grocery retailer in the UK.
“As we celebrate the landmark opening of Asda’s 1,000th store, we are proud to announce this record investment in our colleagues.”
The news coincides with the opening of Asda’s 1,000th store, an Asda Express shop in Stevenage, as it looks to become the UK’s second largest grocery retailer.
Mohsin Issa, Asda’s co-owner, said: “This record investment will see Asda become the highest paying grocery retailer in the UK, recognising the hard work of our store colleagues in serving customers every day. We want to be a company that people are proud to work for, which is why we are proposing increasing pay for retail and Express colleagues by more than 8% this year.
“As we celebrate our 1,000th store opening, I want to thank all our colleagues for their commitment and dedication in bringing Asda’s great value fuel and groceries to more communities.”
