The supermarket says the rise will benefit about 28,000 employees as it becomes the latest chain to lift wages.

The German-owned discounter said wages for entry-level employees will rise to £12.75 an hour across the UK next month, up from £12.40 currently.

Lidl is set to boost the hourly pay of 28,000 employees next month, exceeding the government's upcoming minimum wage increase. The supermarket chain announced that its new pay rates, effective in March, will surpass the National Living Wage (NLW) by over 50p.

Lidl is raising pay for store workers, with a new offer that is set to make it the highest paying UK supermarket. Its entry-level hourly rate is set to rise from £12.40 to £12.75. Within the M25, its rate will rise from £13.65 to £14.

The UK arm of German discount supermarket Lidl is to give its 28,000 hourly paid workers a pay rise of at least 2.8%, it said on Monday, a figure slightly above the current inflation rate of 2.5%. The Bank of England is keeping a close eye on wage settlements as it assesses further moves in interest rates after cutting by a quarter-point last week.