Lidl is giving thousands of employees a pay rise as Living Wage jumps – but they have to wait FOUR months

MORE than 17,000 Lidl employees will be given a pay rise - but workers will have to wait nearly four months for it.

The supermarket is hiking pay packets to match the new Real Living Wage, which is rising to £9 per hour outside London.

It is the fourth year in a row that Lidl - the second highest-paying supermarket after Sainsbury's - has given employees a pay rise to match the Living Wage rates.

The Living Wage is rising from £10.20 to £10.55 in London, and from £8.75 to £9 outside of London, today, and is set by an independent charity the National Living Wage Foundation.

It means that for anyone outside London working 40 hours a week will get more than £500 extra over the next year.

But Lidl's employees won't see the extra money in their bank accounts until March 1.

A spokesman for Lidl said that the The Living Wage Foundation recommends that companies raise their wages before May 2019 to match its rates and that the supermarket has raised pay in March every year since 2015.

The rate, which is not to be confused with the "national living wage" or "national minimum wage" dictated by the Government, is set with reference to the real cost of living.

The national minimum wage applies to workers under the age of 25 and employers are required by law to pay it.

At present this is £7.38 to anyone who is 21 and over.

Meanwhile the national living wage is paid to workers over 25 and varies based on your age group - this is currently £7.38 to anyone who is 25 and older.

There are 4,700 employers which have committed to pay their workers the Living Wage or "real living wage" - which is higher than the legal minimum.

Christian Härtnagel, Lidl UK CEO said: “Our employees are amongst the most talented and hard working in the industry, and we are committed to supporting them both inside and outside of the workplace.

“With our newest warehouse opening this week in Avonmouth, and a further five set to open in the coming years, along with our pipeline of new stores, we look forward to welcoming more people into the Lidl team.”~

Lidl has more than 700 stores in the UK, and it plans to open 50 more next year.

We explain the difference between the Real Living Wage and the National Living Wage in this handy explainer.

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