Lidl Ireland, has announced that it is the first major nationwide employer to commit to paying the 2023 Living Wage.
The retailer has noted that it has first large employer to commit to the latest rate of €13.85 as recommended by the Living Wage Technical Group for 2023.
The company noted that it will invest €7.5 million to introduce this change that will benefit 4,200 employees across Ireland, as all other employees currently earn in excess of the new Living Wage. The Living Wage is an independently assessed and recommended rate of income considered necessary to have a socially acceptable standard of living.
Second Increase
This is the second increase to pay rates that Lidl has announced this year and is in recognition of the on-going hard work and dedication of store and warehouse colleagues, particularly as the cost-of-living crisis continues.
This latest pledge by Lidl to adopt the living wage for 2023 will directly benefit more than 4,200 Lidl colleagues across the country, with a full-time colleague impacted by this increase earning approximately €1,500 more a year.
According to the discounter, employees will benefit from the new living wage level from the 1 March 2023.
€10 Million Investment
This announcement comes on the back of a €10 million investment by the company in March of this year which saw all 5,000 employees receive a pay rise. In total, across the 12 months from March 2022 to March 2023 Lidl will have invested €17.5 million in pay increases across the organisation.
Announcing Lidl’s commitment to pay the latest Living Wage, Maeve McCleane, chief people officer at Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland, said, “Our most important asset is our people and now more than ever before, it is vitally important that we deliver on our responsibility to support our employees to overcome the challenges of the cost-of-living crisis as best we can.
"Our latest commitment to adopt the recommended Living Wage for 2023, for the seventh year in a row, will mean a second pay rise announced for more than 84% of our employees in less than 12 months.”
© 2022 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. For more retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
