Tesco to pay Christmas bonus as Lidl ups hourly wages

Britain’s biggest grocer Tesco is to pay all of its workers in stores, warehouses and its customer engagement centre a 10% bonus for hours worked over Christmas and New Year, while Lidl is investing £8m to hike the hourly rates of pay for 20,000 frontline workers. 

Tesco said hourly paid staff will receive a 10% bonus for all hours worked between December 13 and January 9, while the bonus for frontline managers will be 10% of their salary for weeks worked. 

Temporary staff will also be eligible for the Christmas bonus, as long as they joined the grocer on or before September 1, while all workers will receive an extended 20% discount on their shopping at Tesco in the run up to Christmas.

This comes after the retailer offered a similar bonus to staff for their efforts in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, for hours worked between March 9 and May 30. 

Tesco UK and Ireland boss Jason Tarry said: “The hard work, dedication and resilience that colleagues have shown over the last few months has been remarkable. This year has proven challenging and uncertain for so many of us and this bonus is a way of saying thank you for the incredible response of our colleagues to these challenges.”

Meanwhile, Lidl is hiking entry-level pay from £9.30 per hour to £9.50 for staff outside of London, while those working within the M25 will receive a pay rise from £10.75 an hour to £10.85. That will rise to as much as £11.80 per hour depending on location and length of service. 

The wage increases, which will come into effect in March next year, represent an increase on the current government national minimum wage of £8.72 per hour for over 25s.  

Lidl UK chief executive Christian Härtnagel said: “It is only right that we increase the income for our colleagues who are the backbone of our business. This is about recognising their hard work and dedication in keeping the nation fed during a year like no other. 

“They have served our customers through extremely challenging times and we will always be there to support them in return.”