Lidl Ireland becomes first Irish employer to commit to 2023 Living Wage
Second pay increase on the way for 4,200 Lidl employees, representing a combined investment of €17.5 million by the retailer, following initial pay rise in March 2022
Print25 October 2022
Lidl Ireland, the first major nationwide employer to commit to paying the Living Wage in 2015, became the first large employer to commit to the latest rate of €13.85 during the past week, as recommended by the Living Wage Technical Group for 2023.
The company 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.
This is the second increase to pay rates that Lidl has announced this year, which the retailer says is in recognition of the ongoing 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. Employees will benefit from the new living wage level from the 1 March 2023.
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.
“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,” said Maeve McCleane, chief people officer at Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland. “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.”
McCleane also emphasised Lidl’s “industry-leading initiatives including paid fertility leave, the removal of the mandatory retirement age and our compassionate leave policy”.
“We can see clear evidence that we continue to be an employer of choice for Irish workers with just over 92,000 applications in 2021 versus 76,000 pre pandemic in 2019,” McCleane said. “In the current climate the most important thing for us as an employer is that we are playing our part in providing secure and well-paid jobs, that reward employees and provide financial security in a world of ever-increasing financial strain.”
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